


Our Fate Rests With You

by AmandaDream



Series: Our Fate Rests With You [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-19 20:06:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14244771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmandaDream/pseuds/AmandaDream
Summary: Makenna Weston was a huntress who had seen far too many things. Since the strange death of her parents and having been saved by John Winchester, Makenna had made the promise to hunt all the supernatural creatures on the Earth. She was a young determined woman, but when she receives a call from Dean Winchester, begging her to help him find his disappeared father, she doesn't really know what to do.She had not seen him since their big fight, some years earlier. She hated Dean for the words whom they had exchanged this day. But John was a close friend, her savior, and she could not let him down.Will Makenna manage to cross the country in search for John without killing Dean first? Will they be able to talk about their past and to forgive themselves? Because their fight had begun because of their feeling for each other, in the first place...





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is a Dean x OC story. I don't own SPN, but I own Makenna Weston, my OC, and her story.   
> Warnings: Contain swearing, some angst, many fluff, some smut

_ Introduction. _

 

            ‘’Weeping is not the same as crying. It takes your whole body to weep, and when it’s over, you feel like you don’t have any bones left to hold you up.’’ – Sarah Okler

                                                                                                                                 

**_Rapid City, South Dakota. (1984)_ **

It was almost six o’clock in the afternoon when Ross Weston opened the front door of his house, with his daughter in his arms. The little girl, a blonde five years old kid, was laughing at her father’s joke and Ross couldn’t help but smiling at his little princess. They walked, still laughing and smiling into the house, then Ross put his daughter on the ground so he could close the door behind him. He took off his coat and hat, putting them on the coatrack while watching the little blonde head run towards the kitchen. He smiled again, happy, enjoying the moment he shared every day with his daughter. It was their routine. He had finished his job as a plumber and had taken his daughter home from the pre-school. Each day they played hide and seek in the kitchen and then they got something small to eat before watching TV together, while waiting for his wife, Lynn, to get home from work in town.

“Mac! Where’re ya?” Ross asked, pretending to search for his daughter who was hiding behind the kitchen counter.

He heard her laughing, so he approached her slowly. She laughed again when she heard him going around the counter and shouted in surprise when her father caught her.

“You found me, daddy!” She giggled.

“Yeah, Makenna, I'll always find you.” He smiled before kissing her cheek fondly. “You hungry, little one?”

Makenna nodded her head excitedly with a big smile. Her father smiled too and went to prepare her a snack.

Ross Weston was a happy man for his age. He had a beautiful wife, a magnificent daughter, a good job and a lovely house. He had met his wife, Lynn Carter on a road trip and since then, they had never left each other. Two years later, Makenna was there. They lived in a little house near the forest, but not too far from the city. They had a few friends, they were very happy with their simple life.

Finished preparing her snack, Ross helped his daughter sit on a chair at the table and ate with her, talking about her day at school, about her friends and the drawing she had made. Once she finished eating, she asked her father if she could watch TV. He smiled, nodded and carried her in the living room. She watched her program silently while her father went back in the kitchen, cleaning dishes from the morning and beginning to prepare for dinner.

Two hours later, Ross was pacing in the hall. His wife was late – very late – tonight and he was beginning to worry. She wasn't usually late and she always called to tell him she was going to be late, but not this time, not tonight. That’s why he was so worried. He tried to calm down and decided to sit next to his daughter, watching TV with her. But ten minutes later, Makenna reminded him of his wife's absence by asking him where her mother was. He started worrying again. He answered her that she was still working but that she will be home very soon. Makenna nodded and returned her attention to her animated movie. Ross stood and began pacing in the hall again. He was wondering why his wife was late and why she hadn’t called him to tell him.

After a while, he decided to call her job. He picked up the phone and dialed her desk number. He listened to the tone impatiently, and frowned. She didn’t answer his call, and instead he listened to the voicemail of the bank she worked at. Ross tried to ignore the ball of anxiety lodged in his throat. He tried to think of the different reasons of why she didn’t answer. Maybe she was on the road, already heading home. With this thought, he decided to wait ten more minutes.

But ten minutes later, Lynn was still not home. Ross had tried to call her again a few more times, but resulting each time as the same as before. He was thinking in the hall, until he felt something grab his leg. Looking down, he saw Makenna looking up at him. He smiled, erasing the worry on his face and leaned down and grabbed his daughter in his arms.

“Hey, Mac” he said quietly with a smile.

“Where’s mommy?” she asked with a pout on her lips. “I miss her.”

“She had a lot of work to do.” He answered with a sigh, his heart hurting because of the sad look on his daughter’s face. “But she will be here soon, I promise.”

Makenna looked at him but said nothing, wishing really hard that her mom would be home soon so she could tell her what she had learned and drawn today at school. Ross didn’t like seeing the sad look on his daughter’s face, so he tried to entertain her.

“Are you hungry? I made your favorite meal!” He said, walking towards the kitchen where the table was already set.

“Yeah!” Makenna exclaimed with a huge smile on her face, forgetting her sadness for a moment.

The dinner was spent in silence for the most part, but Ross was trying to make his daughter smile and laugh so she would forget the absence of her mother for the time being. But the empty chair at the table was a constant reminder. After dinner, he went upstairs with Makenna in his arms and put her in bed. He leaned over to kiss her forehead but the little girl didn’t look happy or ready to sleep. Instead, she sat in her little bed and looked at her father with big sad eyes.

“Where’s mummy?” she asked again. “She has to kiss me goodnight.”

Ross was at loss of words for a few seconds, not knowing how to answer his little girl who was missing her mother. He sighed, before he pushed her back in bed,  gently forcing her to lie down.

“I’m sorry, baby girl, but mommy is still working…”

“I can’t sleep without her kiss.” Makenna said firmly, but with tears in her eyes.

“I know… she will kiss you as soon as she’ll be home. But you need to try to sleep without her kiss for now.”

Makenna was thinking, not liking the idea of going to sleep without her mother telling her goodnight first. She looked up at her father and was ready to answer him but he spoke first.

“Mac, I promise you that mom will kiss you as soon as she’s home. But please, you have to be a good girl and sleep.” He almost begged her.

The blonde girl wanted to protest but she heard something in her father’s voice that told her not to. Instead, she looked at the ceiling and nodded reluctantly. Ross sighed in relief before kissing her on the forehead once again and leaving her in her bedroom.

When he reached the last step of the stairs, he saw light coming from the window and heard the noise of a car. With hope, he walked to the window to see who it was. Relief flooded him when he recognized his wife's car. She was finally home. He jogged towards the front door and opened it just as she stepped on the porch. Ross smiled widely, relieved that Lynn was there.

“Lynn! Honey, I was so worried!” He said, taking a step towards her.

Lynn didn’t make a move to greet him or to enter the house. She was just standing there, looking right in his eyes with a small smirk.

“Sorry, dear.” She spoke finally and Ross thought that her voice was cold. “I was fighting my inner demons, " she said as her grin widened and her eyes suddenly went all black.

Ross’s breath hitched at first, his heart missing a beat in his chest because of the fear and the panic, but he quickly recovered from his shock and slammed the door in the face of the demon that was in his wife. He ran toward the kitchen, nearly tripping over his own feet in the search for the salt. He knew he had to act fast if he wanted to stay alive. Once he found the salt, he drew a line in front of each entrance to the kitchen. That’s when the front door burst open, and Lynn, or the demon who was in her, walked in. She made slowly her ways toward the kitchen, glancing at the salt line in amusement.

On the other side of the salt line, Ross stood there, his breath getting heavier by the minute. He was internally cursing himself for getting rid of the holy water. Before marrying Lynn, he promised her that he would stop hunting, that he would quit this life and all of the stuff that went with it. Now he was seriously regretting that promise. But now he was standing in front of his possessed wife with salt and an iron bar from the curtain as his only defense. He didn’t know what to do, he hadn’t anything to kill the demon with, nor a Devil's trap in the house.

“Oh, that’s funny.” The demon inside of Lynn spoke. “The hunter is panicking. How pathetic.”

Ross glared at her, hatred bright in his eyes. This demon had destroyed his life in a matter of seconds.

“When I heard that you quit the life, that you got married and that you were no longer a hunter, I laughed. I didn’t believe it. But here you are.” she said, pacing in front of the salt line like a predator in front of their future prey. “I have to admit that I’m surprised, and a little bit… disappointed. It will be too easy to kill you now.”

“What do you want?” Ross asked, his voice trembling slightly.

“Oh, you know, the usual. Revenge, fun, sport…” She answered, shrugging her shoulders. “But you know, I've heard that you have a kid now. And rumor says that she’s special.”

“Wh-What?” Ross stumbled. “What are you talking about!” He shouted, afraid and angry.

“Oh! You don’t know!” She exclaimed in delight. “Maybe I should tell you… But it’s pointless because I’m going to kill you anyway.”

Lynn smirked and Ross shivered. This was his wife with a disease inside, but he didn’t know how to save her. While he was thinking of a way to kill the demon, Lynn raised her hand. The wind outside became stronger and stronger, the windows burst open and the wind rushed inside the house. In a matter of seconds, the salt lines were gone. Ross ran towards a drawer in the kitchen and grabbed a knife. He knew that it was useless on a demon, but for now, it was his only way of defending himself. Lynn walked into the kitchen and laughed at the sight of the former hunter. She raised her hand and Ross flew across the room before hitting the wall. Lynn could kill him here and now, but she wanted to have fun first. Soon, a fight had started in the house.

Upstairs, Makenna was having difficulty going to sleep. Her mother hadn’t kissed her goodnight yet, and she was sad and worried. Then, she heard a big noise on the floor below. Scared, she sat up in her bed and listened. She heard voices so she jumped of her bed and ran towards her bedroom door. She listened attentively and then smiled when she heard her mother’s voice. She opened the door and began to go down the stairs. But she stopped when she heard a scream of pain and another big noise. She then became afraid. When she heard her mother shouting, she ran down the last couple of stairs and into the living room.

What she saw sent shiver down her spine and brought tears to her eyes. Her father and her mother were fighting, throwing punches at each other. There was blood everywhere and the room was a mess. When she saw her mother catching her father by the throat and suffocating him, a sob escaped her.

“Mom?” She asked, her voice trembling.

The head of her parents turned toward her. Her father was fighting to breath and he was afraid for Makenna. But the eyes of her mother were the thing that frightened her the most. They were black as night. She stared, too scared to look away as Ross tried to shout at her.

“Go away! Mac, run!” He managed to say.

Lynn sent him flying away, and he collapsed against a wall. She walked slowly toward Makenna, smirking, but the little girl was too afraid, and she stepped back each time her mother took a step. Lynn raised her hand, but before she could do anything, she was pushed to the floor. Ross dragged her away from his daughter and grabbed the salt. He emptied the bag of salt on her, ignored her scream of agony and ran towards his daughter.

The little girl was crying and shivering, still panicking. Ross knelt before her and grabbed her small shoulders.

“Mac, run and hide in the car. Don’t move until I’m back.” He ordered, but Makenna didn’t look at him. “Now!” He said louder.

Makenna came out of her daze, nodded, and ran as fast as she could. She opened the back door, ran through her garden toward the garage. She opened the door of the car and hid inside it. While watching his daughter run away, he grabbed his phone and called an old friend.

“John, it’s me. I need help. A demon. I’m defenseless. Hurry.” He ended the call as fast as he could, hoping that his friend could get to him in time.

Ross turned to see Lynn standing in the living room, moaning in pain and rage. He raised his knife and began chanting an exorcism. Lynn laughed a little and ran toward him. Ross pushed her off of him and she landed in front of the fireplace. The carpet beneath her accidently moved towards the heat and caught fire. Ross continued chanting the exorcism, ignoring the fire that was building up in the living room. But the demon in Lynn didn’t want him to continue. She wanted him to suffer. So she smiled her little smirk again, and formed a new plan in her head.

“If I’m leaving, I’ll not be the only one.” She shouted over the roar of the fire before running towards Ross and impaling herself on his knife.

Ross stopped his exorcism, in shock. He looked at the knife he was holding that was shoved in his wife, then looked up to the see the smirk on the demon’s face.

Lynn looked at him before opening her mouth and a black smoke flew in the air. The body of his wife went limp in his arm, and he caught her before she hit the floor.

“No!” He shouted. And then, looking at the demon still floating in the air, he was filled with a new resolve and finished the exorcism. The demon made a noise before disappearing through the floor, back in hell.

“No, please, Lynn, honey, wake up.” He mumbled, rocking his wife’s body in his arms.

When she slowly opened her eyes, he knew that he maybe still had a chance to save her. He took her in his arms and picked her up.  But the fire had invaded the room, blocking their way out. Ross began to panic again, and he tried to find an escape but couldn’t reach the door that led outside. A tear slid on his cheek, and he knew he was going to die here, with his wife. He was afraid, but he mostly was angry that he couldn’t save his wife or protect his daughter. He had been a fool for thinking that he could quit that life, to stop hunting. He was going to leave his daughter behind him, orphaned. He cried, rocking his now dead wife in his arms, waiting for the fire to consume him.

Outside, Makenna watched as her house burned, crying and shouting for her father and mother to come out. She kicked the window, but her parents never managed to leave the house alive.

She curled up into a ball, weeping all night in the car. She cried until she couldn't breathe anymore and finally fell asleep.

She was now an orphan.


	2. Chapter 2

_ Chapter 1 _

 

            “So if I have to let you leave me, I want you to know that in the end, it wasn’t because I stopped caring, it was because you stopped being a friend.’’

– Unknown.

 

**_Selma, California (Twenty years later)_ **

Parking her Buick Riviera 1967 in the motel parking lot, Makenna Weston grabbed her duffle bag and walked towards her door. She wiped her slightly dirty hands on her ripped blue jeans, then blindly searched for the key in her pocket and opened the door. She stepped in the dark and messy motel room that she had rented for two weeks now. Exhausted, she didn’t find the courage to do anything and let her bag hit the floor before falling onto the bed, face buried in the sheets.

Two weeks, two long and hard weeks that she was staying here and she had finally finished her job. How glad she was right now. She didn’t usually complain a lot about her job, she grew doing it, she was used to the bad side eventually, and she was pretty proud of herself when she was done. But this one, damn it was a hard case. At first, it was a simple ghost hunt, nothing too big or alarming, just a small salt-n’-burn type of hunt. Easy, she initially thought. Nothing out of her league and she learnt from the best. Two-three days and she would be home, she thought. Wrong. Makenna quickly realized that it wasn’t as easy as she thought it would be. A ghost, she could deal with. But three at a time? Harder. After doing a lot of researches, interviewing people, Makenna ended her hunt by burning the corpse with salt. Job’s done, she thought. How she was surprised when another victim was found the next day. It’s seemed impossible at first, she couldn’t have been wrong on the ghost. So she did a lot more of research and interviews, and discovered with unpleasant surprised that there were two more ghosts haunting the building. But enough of this, tonight she was glad to finally say it was over. Now she was going to sleep so she could go home to Bobby as fast as she could.

Sioux Falls was her home now, with Bobby. After the terrific night when she lost her parents, a hunter had found her and brought her to Bobby Singer. At first, it was just temporary, just for the time to mourn and to find her a new family. But she grew attached to Bobby and he decided to keep her around. He raised her as if she was his own daughter; with love and care. He taught her how to hunt and everything that she needed to know about the supernatural world. She loved Bobby as if he was her father, since he had helped her mourn her parents and had helped her get rid of all the darkness that was invading her. After her parents’ death, when she was old enough to understand, all she wanted to do was die too. Sadness was present all day long, reminding her that she was orphan and darkness became her quotidian. To make it worse, she had a big fight with her best friend and she had begun to think that all the people she had ever loved were abandoning her. The dejection had been so overwhelming that she had eventually decided to cross a line, a fatal line...

But that was all in the past. Now, she was a good huntress of the supernatural world. She was stubborn and determined, and now happy with her new life. Makenna rolled on her back and closed her eyes. She was too tired to take off her clothes and get under the sheets. She slowly fell asleep.

☾SPN☽

At the campus of Stanford, in the parking lot, two young men walked towards a black Chevy Impala 1967. They put their duffle bags in the trunk of the car. The taller man looked around, observing one last time the place and sighed heavily. He didn’t want to go; he was reluctant. The other man next to him heard his sigh and looked at him, slightly frowning.

“What is it, Sammy?" he said, carefully watching the expression of the taller man, Sam.

“It’s Sam.” He grumbled, immediately correcting him, as if it was a reflex. “I’m not totally sure that I should go with you.”

“Sam, we have to find Dad.” Dean, Sam's older brother, answered for what felt like the hundredth time tonight. “And I promised that you’ll be back- “

“-by Monday.” Sam finished, slightly rolling his eyes. His brother could be annoyingly convincing at times.

“Yeah.” Dean agreed. He shut the trunk of his car and walked toward the front seat. Sam sighed again but got into the passenger seat anyway. Even if he was reluctant, he was slightly worried, and his brother needed him. Family was important, he couldn’t do that to his big brother. Still not sure that he was doing the right thing – leaving his girlfriend was his major worry –he sat quietly in the car. He looked straight in front of him, the campus was desert, not even a party in the night, and waited for the car to start but nothing happened. Confused, he looked at his brother, who had his hands on the steering wheel but did nothing to start the car. He was looking in front of him without really seeing anything; he was lost in his thoughts.

“Car won’t start itself” Sam commented, more confused by his brother than worried.

“Yeah, just thinking.” Dean rejected quickly, searching for turning the key to start the car.

“About what?” The younger asked before he could start the engines. He was still annoyed by Dean’s irruption in the middle of the night and he wanted him to be totally honest with him. If they wanted to work together, he’d had to share every information with him.

Dean opened his mouth as if he wanted to tell something, but nothing came out of his mouth. Instead he shook his head, as rejecting the idea he had a moment before.

“Nothing.” He finally said, a not-so-convincing smile threw in Sam’s way.

He started the car but his little brother put a hand on his arm to stop him. He knew his brother, and he knew that he wasn’t a guy who confide easily. Sam will have to force him a little to know what’s was really going on.

“If it’s about Dad, tell me. What is it?” Sam insisted. He often saw his brother lying to him, to ‘protect’ him as he said. But Sam was all grown up now, and he wanted to know. If Dean came here, almost begging him to help in his quest for their Dad, why would he kept information from him? Dean usually proud to show his knowledge, to show off, was suddenly reluctant and cautious. Sam wanted to know why his mood took a sudden swing.

Dean sighed and rolled his eyes to his brother. He was reluctant to tell his bother what was bothering him. He was still debating about if it was a good idea or not. It was just a thought that crossed his mind… many times… But considering doing it? Since his father’s gone, Dean didn’t really know what to do, he wasn’t used to take the decision for once. He was more the one to follow the lead, to listen to the orders like a good little soldier. Now, he was the one in charge, and it was a lot more different than he thought it would be. He was reluctant to share his thoughts with his brother, but he knew Sam, he knew that if he wanted to work with him, he needed to tell him the truth. And he was secretly hoping that he would help him make his mind about his idea.

“I was thinking that, since you’re a bit rusty, we may need someone’s help, someone who knows a lot of things, who has a lot of knowledge of hunting.” He finally gave up and explain reluctantly to the younger Winchester. He was still looking at the wheel, thinking.

“Yeah, that seem right. Do you have someone in mind?” Sam asked, nodding at the thought.

Dean didn’t answer right away. His look deviated to the side, avoiding slightly Sam’s. He was still thinking about how it was a good idea. He should just forget that and hit the road. Sam looked at him knowing that something was wrong. He was avoiding eyes contact as if he was avoiding admitting his thought to himself. Why would he be so reluctant? Thinking, Sam finally had an idea, he then understood who his brother was thinking about. And suddenly Dean’s behavior made more sense.

“It’s her, right?” He asked, looking at his brother for any reaction. “You're thinking about Makenna.”

Dean closed his eyes for a second at the sound of her name. It had been so long since he had heard it. And with it, flowed so many memories. He sighed and looked back at Sam. “Yeah. I mean, she’s one of the best, she knew Dad, and since she lives with Bobby she knows a lot…” Dean grimaced then, when he thought about the problem it brought. “But…”

“But you don’t know if she will accept.” Sam finished, nodding with understanding, finally catching up with Dean’s thoughts.  

“Yep… I mean, we didn’t really separate in good terms…” He said, sarcastically to hide his pain at the memory.

Dean was not sure how she would react, he hadn't talked to her since their big argument. He could remember that day as if it were yesterday. He easily imagined that she would react aggressively, angrily after what had happen. Makenna and he were best friends once; it was a long time ago… He needed her help now, but after all those years without a sign of life from her, he didn’t know if she would talk to him, or even listen to him. He had to admit that he was apprehending her reaction. He was afraid of fighting with her again.

“Have you talked to her since…?” Sam asked carefully.

“No.” Came the definite answer.

“Not even once?” He asked again, this time in surprise.

“Dammit Sam! I said no! I haven’t seen her, talked to her or heard from her since that day.” He nearly shouted, his hand hitting the wheel with frustration.

Sam looked at his brother with sympathy and tried another approach to try to calm him down.

“Okay, okay… Um, maybe you should call her.”

“What? No.” Dean said firmly, eyes slightly wider than usual, but Sam could tell he was afraid.

“Yes, you have to call her. You’re the one that came up with this idea. We need her, you don’t have a choice. Beside, it’ll be easier to talk to her on the phone.”

“She won’t want to talk to me and will hang up.”  He said surely, turning fully towards him. His face was clearly telling that he didn’t like this idea in the slightest.

Sam wanted to rolled his eyes, but didn’t, knowing that it would pissed his brother off. Dean could be stubborn sometimes… But instead of telling him wrong to ended in an argument, he turned in his seat to face his brother and spoke calmly.

“You know; I often talk to her since I’m in college now. She asked me how you were doing once. I don’t think she’ll hang up on you. You have to at least try.”

Dean was surprised with the revelation from his brother. He didn’t know that Sam had kept in touch with her, but he was even more surprised that she asked about him. He felt guilty because he never had the nerve to call her and ask her how she was. Maybe Sam was right, maybe he should call her. It was in the past, they were grown up persons, maybe they could team up just for a while. He had to try but he didn’t know what he was going to tell her.

“You still have her number?” Sam asked, breaking Dean’s thoughts, forcing him to act.

“Um, yeah I still have it.” He answered, slightly distracted by his own thoughts. Strangely, he never had the guts to delete it. He was secretly hoping that she’d call him or that he would be able to call her. That opportunity never happened till now. He took his phone out of his pocket and stared at it for a moment. Then he looked up at Sam, and became slightly nervous.

“Go on.” Sam encouraged. “It’ll be fine.”

Dean threw him a look, wanting to tell him that he wasn’t a baby, but the nervousness was present and he preferred remaining silent. He took a deep breath to calm down his heart that suddenly decided to beat a little faster and searched for her number in his list of contacts. He stared at her familiar number for a minute before opening the door and stepping outside the car. He sat on the trunk for more privacy and calm, and called her. He waited for her to pick up nervously but with a bit hope.

☾SPN☽

Makenna was almost asleep when suddenly the riff of _Smells Like Teen Spirit_ of **_Nirvana_** echoed in the room. She groaned loudly, the sound muffled by the pillow, before searching for her phone in her pocket and answered without looking at who it was.

“Yeah.” She mumbled half asleep and annoyed, not caring if she sounded rude, she was tired and this person was keeping her from sleeping.

“Mac? It’s Dean.” A familiar masculine voice said.

Her eyes went wide open and she straightened abruptly in the bed. Was she dreaming or did she really heard that voice? Her mind went blank for a second or two. She had never expected this to happened. The last time she had talked to him, they had their big serious fight and they yelled at each other and swore that they would never see each other again. She hadn’t see him in nearly… seven years? She didn’t know how to react. That was a lot to take in, especially with her tired mind.

“Dean?” She murmured, unsure of what to say. “Wow… I… I wasn’t excepting you.”

“I know… It’s been a while.” He answered and she could tell by his voice that he was uneasy.

There was a silence, Makenna was thinking. She hadn’t talked to Dean Winchester since their argument and, now thinking about it, she was still a bit angry with him. But on the other side, Dean was once her best friend, and she really missed him. She was glad to hear that he was still alive (in this life, you never knew). She was relieved to hear his voice, to know that he was okay, but she wasn’t sure if she could forget the things that they said to each other that horrible day. Her thoughts and feelings were mixed around and she didn’t know what to think. She was suddenly overwhelmed by memories, but the bad being most recent and the last that she had with him, she was tempted to hang up and pretend that it never arrived.

However, the silence became awkward and Dean decided to talk again before she could take her decision.

“Um… How are you?” He asked, trying to start a conversation.

“Uh… I’m fine.” She answered briefly, her mind still racing. Were they going to do normal conversation? After all that happened? “Well, I just returned from hunting and you know what it’s like. But I’m fine.” She finally chose to go with it. She didn’t want to start a war all over again. Come what may.

“Still hunting, uh? Great. That’s great.” He answered awkwardly. She could somehow felt that he was relieved, jumping on her answer as if he had been afraid she would just hang up.  

Even if Makenna enjoyed this little _yet_ strange conversation, she knew that Dean didn’t call her after seven years just to ask her how she was doing.

“Dean… Why are you calling me?” She asked, hoping that she didn’t sound too offensive, but you could clearly tell that she was losing patience.

“Hum… I’ve got a problem, and… I need your help.” He finally answered.

Makenna was a bit disappointed if not upset. In seven years he didn’t call her once, and now he was calling her _only_ because he needed her help. She was a little hurt by the thought but she tried not to pay too much attention to it and instead focused on Dean. _Don’t start a war_ , she reminded herself.

“What's the problem?” She asked.

She thought she heard Dean let out a breath of relief. Okay so, it was more important than she thought. She thought a moment that he was going to announce her a bad news.  

“It’s Dad. He’s missing, " Dean said, his voice now filled with concern.

“John?” She asked, surprised. She should have been worried. It would have been the reaction of all normal people on this Earth, but Makenna wasn’t normal, nor was the Winchester Family. “You sure? I mean, he did that a lot when we were hunting with him.”

“Yeah, but not like this. I think it's serious this time.”

It was enough words for her to understand that it wasn’t a matter to take lightly. Dean used to be the first to tell her that John would be alright when she worried about him. Now was different.

“Dean, I’m sorry… What can I do to help you?” She asked, now concerned. It was time to grow up, and to let on the side all their disagreements. There was a bigger picture here.

There was a silence and, despite her worry, Makenna held her breath, perfectly knowing what it meant: she wasn’t going to like the next sentence.

“He was hunting something before he disappeared…” Dean finally said. “I know you’re good at following tracks, so I was thinking that maybe, you could come with me and help me to find him?”

There it was. She knew that she wasn’t going to like this. She hadn’t seen him for seven years after thirteen years of friendship and here he was asking for her help. No, he was asking her to hunt with him. How could she do that? She was still angry with him, maybe not as much as she used to be, but there was still a bit of bitterness at the memory of their fight. But, on the other hand, it was in the past. Was it really necessary to keep blaming the other.

 Dean and her, they used to be like Bonnie and Clyde, they were inseparable, they were partners in crime. They used to piss off John when he saw them always plotting behind his back, sneaking out of the motel room. Makenna couldn’t help but smile at the memories that flooded her thoughts.

She didn’t know what to do. She was totally clueless. John was like a member of her family, she couldn’t let him down, but would she be able to travel with Dean without fighting like last time?

At her silence, Dean began to doubt. He was thinking that she would say no, that she would let him down and he could not let that happened, he didn’t want it to end like that. He had enough courage to call, he had enough courage to put aside his pride to talk to her. She couldn’t let him down. Not now. He knew he hadn’t any right to demand her to help him. But he really needed her.

 Dean couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to be by her side again. Was she still blonde? Was she finally taller? Did she still used to dress like a bad girl with her ripped jean and black leather jacket? If he was honest with himself, he didn’t want to lose her one more time. So, as a last attempt, he decided to speak again.

“Sammy’s here, he'll be hunting with us.” He said, hoping that it would tempt her into coming with them.

“Sam?” She asked just to be sure. “I thought he was in college.”

“He is. He’s just helping for a few days. He’s ‘model student’ now, addict to books and school, not really a hunter anymore.” Dean said with a dramatic sigh and Makenna couldn’t help but chuckled at it.

“He’s always been the geek of our team.” She said in a small breathy laugh.

Dean smiled into the phone, he had missed her voice. He had missed her.

“So?” He asked reluctantly, afraid of her answer.

“… John saved my life.” She declared carefully. “He helped me, a lot. He’s part of my family. So…” Dean held his breath, waiting for her choice. “So, I’m coming. I’ll help find your dad.” She finally said.

“Really?” He asked, very surprised, before quickly changing his tone. “Uh, I mean thanks, that means a lot to me.”

Makenna smiled slightly at the relief in his voice. She was glad that she had brought him hope again. But she couldn’t help but felt the strange feeling that she had said the wrong thing.

“Where’re ya, I can pick you up, if you want? We could hit the road together like before.” He said hopefully.

“Um, yeah. I’m in a motel in Selma.”

“Great, we’re only at three hours from you.”

“Really? Fine, I suppose I’ll see you guys soon.”

“Yeah, bye Mac.”

“Bye, Dean”

Makenna hung up and sigh falling back on the bed. She stared at the ceiling for several minutes, thinking about what had just happened. She was lost, she didn’t know what to think. She had mixed feelings, both disappointment and relief, anger and happiness… She didn’t know which one she should pick. _I have to do this for John Winchester_ , she kept reminding herself. She remembered the day that he saved her…

_⌋_ _She was still hiding in the car. Her father had told her to stay there until he came back, but he never had a chance to leave the house because of the fire. She knew he wasn’t going to come back but she didn’t move. She was curled up in a ball, crying silently, waiting for something to happen._

_That’s when a car arrived in front of her destroyed house. She raised her head when she heard the noise of a car door and observed a man running to her house. She was wondering what he was doing here, with a shotgun in his hands, and was secretly hoping that he would come back with her parents. Thinking about this man, wishing that he would be able to save her parents, made her want to see what was going on in the house. She straightened a bit and leaned more on the window._

_In the house, John Winchester was searching for any sign of life in the wreckage. Last night, he had received a call from Ross Weston, telling him that he was in danger and that he needed help. As soon as the call had ended, he was in his car with his two sons and was driving towards Rapid City. But he was too late, the house had burned, there was nothing left. The hunter walked carefully to the burnt house, observing everything around him. Suddenly, his eyes settled on two corpses on the ground, holding each other and he cursed in his breath. Ross and his wife were dead, he was too late, he couldn’t save them._

_John was sad, Ross had been one of the few hunters to help him in his quest for the thing that killed his wife. He had learned a lot of things from him. He was a good friend too. John sighed, rubbed a hand on his face, and left the house._

_When he walked towards his car, a black Chevy Impala '67, he saw his older son walking around the side of the car. He hurried towards him._

_“Dean, I told you to stay in the car.” He scolded the little boy._

_Dean jumped slightly at the voice of his father, but didn’t seem afraid or ashamed. He was looking at the car on the side of the house._

_“Dad, I heard something.” He said, looking at his father. “That was coming from the car. "_

_John looked at the brown pick-up that was parked near the side of the house, not far away from them. He grabbed the hand of his son and opened the door of the Impala._

_“Stay here.” He ordered._

_Dean didn’t like it, but nodded anyway. He looked at his little brother in the back seat, he was only two, and he needed to watch over him. John closed the door behind his son and walked towards the car, carefully, shotgun in hand. When he reached the car, he heard something, a noise and a sob. He frowned and raised his hand towards the knob of the door. He opened it brutally, aiming his weapon, but then, froze. It was a little girl, curled into a ball, crying and afraid. He dropped his weapon immediately and raised his hand, showing the little girl that he didn’t want to harm her._

_“Shh, it’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to help you.”_

_Makenna raised her head, watching the man with fear but when her eyes meet his, she knew she could trust him. He offered his hand for her to take, and she looked at it before grabbing it as if it was a lifesaver._

_John watched the little girl and when he noticed her blonde hair and her light blue-gray eyes, he knew that she was Ross’s daughter. He didn’t know how she had survived a demon attack, and he couldn’t imagine what she had been through last night. He just wanted to reassure her, he had to take care of her, had to take her somewhere safe, for his friend's sake._

_“My name is John. I’m a friend of your father.” He said unsure of what he should say to a five-year-old girl who just had lost her parents. “What’s your name sweetheart?”_

_The little girl looked at him for what seem like forever before she decided to speak._

_“Makenna.” She answered. “Whe-Where’re my parents?” She asked, tears in her eyes._

_“I… I’m sorry Makenna, but… they… They’re gone.” He answered softly, sorry for her._

_Makenna looked him in the eyes and he barely could stand it. He could see the tears forming in her eyes but she cried silently, she didn’t sob like he expected her to do. She just let the tears fall on her cheeks. He sighed sadly. Life was unfair, this little girl was orphan because of a creature she didn’t even know existed._

_“Come here. I’m going to take care of you.”_

_Makenna nodded silently and let John carry her toward his car. She looked behind him at her house, burned, now just a pile of ash…_

_John opened the door of his car and called his son. Dean jumped out of the car and looked at the girl in his father’s arms. John set her on the ground._

_“Take care of her, we’re going to take her somewhere safe.” He said to his son._

_Dean nodded. He opened the door of the backseat, grabbed Makenna's hand and helped her get in the car. He got in after her and closed the door before turning towards her. He smiled at her and Makenna was curious about him._

_“I’m Dean Winchester. This is my little brother, Sam.” He introduced himself and the baby boy next to him, still smiling at her._

_The girl looked at him, confused at first, then unsure. But very soon, she felt herself return his smile. The first smile since the incident._

_“I’m Makenna Weston.” She replied._

_John was looking at them in the rearview and smiled a bit. He felt for her, but he was glad that she didn’t think about her parents’ death for now. He was wondering what was going to happen to her since he didn’t know if she had another family relative around. Starting the car, he decided to bring her to Bobby Singer. The older hunter would know what to do._ _⌊_

Makenna sighed and returned to reality. Without John, she didn’t know where she would be now. Maybe she would have died in that car, maybe she would have gotten lost in the woods… She owed him a debt. She just hoped that she didn’t make the biggest mistake of her life by accepting to hunt again with Dean Winchester. She rubbed her hand against her face, very tired.

“What’ve I done?” She asked herself, shutting her eyes close, her eyebrow knotting together. But now, it was too late to go back.

She decided to call Bobby to let him know what she was going to do, then texted her coordinates to Dean and finally got into bed. It was already five in the morning and Sam and Dean would be there in three hours. She was going to have a very short night. And she had the feeling that it was just the beginning.

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

_ Chapter 2 _

 

            “You know on TV when there’s one of those awkward, shocking moments and all you hear are the crickets in the background? Well chirp fucking chirp… this is one of those moments.’’ – Emma Chase.

 

**_Selma, California_ **

Groaning when the alarm clock of her watch went off, Makenna opened her eyes with great difficulty and reached her wrist to stop the noise. Her arm then fell again on the bed and her eyes closed once more. She groaned loudly though, not quite asleep, annoyed. She didn’t want to move, she simply wanted more sleep. She could have easily fall back asleep, but her mind was awake now, and it didn’t take her long to remember that the Winchesters were coming. Sighing in her pillow, she tried to motive herself to move and with all the strength she had, she stood up. She had to get up, shower and change before they arrived, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to.

Slowly, while her head was ponding from lack of sleep, she dragged her feet in the direction of the bathroom. She didn’t open the curtain, letting the room in the dark, afraid of the bright light outside. She didn’t look into the mirror once she was in the bathroom either, not wanting to see the big bags under her eyes or her pale skin that kept reminded her how unpleasant to see the life of hunter had made her. She immediately jumped under the shower, turning the water to cold. She was going to need to wake up to affront Dean Winchester today…

She had just spent ten minutes in the shower, wincing at her bruises from the hunt from the night before. She stepped out of the bathroom to get dressed. She wore some simple black jeans, a gray tank-top with a blue flannel and her favorite boots. She was starting to pack her things, thinking deeply. Since she woke up, she was thinking about what to tell Dean, and about how to behave with him in the same room. Would he be happy to see her? Would she be happy to see him? When Mac heard a knock on her door, she froze, knowing that she didn’t have time to go through the different scenarios anymore.  It was time, time to affront her past and she felt very nervous at the idea of being in the same room as Dean Winchester again. She turned towards the door, forgetting her packing for a moment and took a deep breath. She opened the door quickly only to find herself face to face with a chest. Makenna looked up to see the face of Sam Winchester, smirking down at her. Her face suddenly lightened up, as she smiled widely at him, happy to see him after all these years.

“Hello, Mac.” He said with a smile.

“Sam!” She exclaimed, hugging him. “Oh my god, you’re so tall, that’s so unfair!”

Sam chuckled and hugged her back. “You’re the one that’s too short. It’s good to see you, Makenna.”

She stepped back to let him walking in her room and that was when she saw him. Dean was behind his brother, his hands in his pockets, looking slightly nervous but hiding it well. He was looking at the ground, shifting his weight on his feet, before raising his head to look into her eyes. Makenna felt her heart starting to race. As she looked back at him, she remembered their fight, the things that they shouted at each other that day and felt sad and irritated. But she also remembered the little boy that helped her mourn her parents, that helped her learn to hunt, that made her laugh and smile. And she missed her best friend, but he wasn’t. He wasn’t the Dean she knew, he was the boy that shouted at her, and told her horrible things. It was kinda hard to forget. Once again, she blamed herself for saying yes to this. But she reminded her that she had to do it for John, so she looked him in the eyes and offered him a forced smile.

“Dean, hi.” She said.

“Hey, Mac…” He said still unsure. “Look at you, you’re all grown up.”

“Grown up? Me?” She asked as he stepped inside her room. “I hope I have in seven years.” She said, shrugging her shoulders.

She closed the door behind them and turned to look at the boys. They were standing here; Sam was looking at the room while Dean was looking at his shoes. Makenna could feel the tension in the room. She was herself experiencing it right now. Her heart was going fast in her chest, she felt nervous. Dean seemed to be nervous too, was he afraid of her reaction? Was he regretting all that happened seven years ago? Makenna looked at him from the corner of her eyes and thought. She didn’t know what to do, she was slowly panicking. Finally, she decided to remain professional, but still be friendly. Sam was like a little brother to her, and Dean… well, she had to decide what he was to her now.  Taking a decision and wanting to erase the thick tension in the room, she tried to talk to make them all feel more comfortable.

“Um… Sorry for the mess, I was about to pack when you knocked.”

“No, it’s fine, don’t worry.” reassured Sam, smiling at her. “So, you’re hunting on your own?” He asked.

“Sam, really?” She asked with amusement. “I’m 25, not five anymore. I can handle myself.”

Okay, Sam, she could easily do as she used to. She loved this guy, and she didn’t feel uncomfortable when she was near him. She didn’t have to think before teasing him or joking, it was natural. It actually made her feel better, less nervous.

“I’m sure you can, but you look tired.”

“Well, I supposed that’s what I should look like after only three hours of sleep.” She answered, shrugging her shoulders.

“Only three? How can you stand?” Dean spoke for the first time since he walked in the room.

Makenna looked at him. Dean, she was less comfortable with him… Well, it seemed to be excepted when she remembered their fight. She was so lost, what should she do? Pretend nothing happened? Even if she wanted to do that, and even if she knew it would be best for the job, she couldn’t. She just couldn’t pretend that he hadn’t hurt her, that he hadn’t abandon her. But, on the other hand, she didn’t want to be mean and threw their past in his face. It wouldn’t be nice, nor mature, and it wouldn’t help to find John. She sighed, guessing that she’ll had to do something in between…

“Honestly, I don’t know.” She said, unsure.

“Well, you can sleep in the car” He told her, attempting another small smile.

Makenna smiled tightly, Dean had always been protective about her, had always wanted to make her feel better when they were friends. It was weird to see him still doing that, even after what had happened. She nodded her thanks anyway and looked at her duffle bag that she still had to pack. She walked towards it and quickly began to collect her belongings.

“I just have to pack my things and I’m ready.” She told them.

They nodded in agreement and walked around the room, looking at her room. Sam sat on her bed watching his friend and discreetly eyeing his brother. He knew that none of them were fine with the situation, and he could sense the tension in the small room. But he had to admit that they hid it well. Makenna was trying to be fair and polite and Dean was trying to be calm and discreet. Sam wasn’t sure if it would work out, but he sure hoped so.

He didn’t know exactly what had happened that memorable day, he was at Stanford already and wasn’t hunting with them anymore. He just knew that they had a big fight. He had called Mac soon after, just as he usually did to ask her how she was doing and, he could tell that she wasn’t ok. Something felt off about her. So he asked her what was the matter. She wouldn’t tell him until he forced her to tell him what had happened. That time, she broke down in tears on the phone, telling him that she just had lost her best friend. She wouldn’t tell him any more details, so he tried to call Dean and asked him subtly what had happened with Makenna. But he wouldn’t say a thing either. 

The younger Winchester considered Makenna Weston as his sister, she always had been there for him, just like his brother was. And he missed the old times when they all played together in Bobby’s backyard. Those were good memories and it broke his heart seeing their relationship broken. He wasn’t as close to his brother anymore and after his fight with his father, he couldn’t see him as often as he would like to. And even if Makenna had tried to keep touch with him, since her fight with Dean, she was closing up too.

So, deep in his mind, he secretly hoped that this little trip would help them paste the pieces back together.

“So, how is Stanford?” Makenna asked while walking into the bathroom with her duffle bag. The awkward silence was too much for her, she had to talk to erase the tension.

“It’s great actually.” Sam answered, coming back to reality. “I really like it.”

“Good, that's good to hear. And how’s Jess?”

“She’s fine, confused by Dean’s entrance in the middle of the night last night, but she’s fine.” He smiled when Dean threw him a look.

Makenna stopped slightly in her moved. She knew that she wasn’t ready to talk to him, and she didn’t want to pretend that nothing had happened. But she was curious, and deep down, she knew that she still like him. He was her best friend once, you just can’t forget all the good times in a snap of fingers. She closed her eyes a moment and when she opened them back, she was determinate to be smart. She couldn’t pretend, okay, but she couldn’t do as if he was a stranger either.

“In the middle of the night, huh?” Makenna asked Dean, looking directly at him for the first time, popping her head out of the bathroom.

“It was important.” Dean tried to defend himself, slightly surprised that she was addressing him directly. “And I wanted to see if Sammy was still good at defending himself.”

“Is he?” She asked curiously. Sam looked at her in surprise with false hurt. “What? I’m just checking! We’re going to hunt together; you gotta be able to have my back!” She explained with an amused smile.

“He’s bit rusty.” Dean smiled. Sam huffed, annoyed at them. They always had been like that. They would always belittle him, though kindly. “Now, now Sammy, don’t be sad” Makenna mocked with a cute pout on her lips.

Dean couldn’t help but chuckle at that and soon enough Sam broke a smile. Makenna, satisfied that she had been able to remove the tension between them, smiled brightly and disappeared again in the bathroom. Once she was out of sight, she took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Okay, that wasn’t so hard, she could do it. She finished what she was doing quickly and when she came back in the room, she was ready.

“Okay guys, I’m ready, let’s go.”

Dean and Sam nodded and walked out of the motel room. Makenna quickly went to give the key to the office and came back.

“No wait, I’ve got something in my car.” She said.

She walked in the parking lot toward her Buick Rivera ’67. Dean stopped when he saw her car. “Wow, this is your car?” He exclaimed, impressed.

“Yep!” She replied proudly, opening the trunk to grab something.

He knew that she had good taste in cars, but he didn’t know she actually would drive one of them. Makenna smiled, leaned in her car to grab a smaller bag and then shut the car, walking back to the boys. Dean noticed that she had a journal in her hand. It was her hunter's diary.

“She’s a beauty. Bobby’s gift for my 21st birthday.” She said proudly. “Sadly enough, I going to leave her here.”

“You’re going to ditch her?” Sam asked, surprised.

“Are you insane? No way I’m ditching her! Bobby’s going to bring her back home for me.”

“Well, she’s pretty, but not as pretty as mine.” Dean said when they reach the black Chevy Impala.

Makenna actually stopped in her tracks when she saw the car. She couldn’t believe it. She thought she would never see this piece of art again. She spent so much time in that car! It was a part of her life.

“No way.” She breathed out slowly. “He gave her to you?” She asked to be sure, walking slowly towards the vehicle.

“Yep. She’s mine.” Dean said proudly.

“Oh, great. I’m so jealous now.” She whined playfully, before catching herself. She frowned, how easy it was to forget that you were standing in front of your ex-best friend and that you’re still a bit mad at him.

Dean laughed at her, unaware of her inner fight, proud of his car.

“Okay guys, stop talking about the car and get in!” Sam complained, ready to go.

Makenna looked at him as if he had grown a second head and placed a defensive hand on the door of the Impala. “Don’t listen to him, sweetie.” She murmured to the car. “He doesn't understand. I missed you.”

Sam rolled his eyes, he had actually forgotten how dramatic she could be. She would always play around, jokingly, doing her drama queen impressions. He always complained as if he was annoyed but he secretly enjoyed it. Dean laughed at them and got in the car.

Once they were all inside, they hit the road, and explained briefly to Makenna that they were heading towards Jericho because that was where John was supposed to be hunting last.

“Dad was checking out a blacktop outside of Jericho. A month ago a guy vanished. Ten people have, over the past 20 years, all men, all same 5-mile stretch of road.” Dean explained.

“Okay, and John was hunting there, three weeks ago?” Mac asked, thinking about what it could be. It was actually easier to talk to him when it was all business, Makenna noticed.

“Yeah, and the night before, I get this voicemail.” Dean said. “Sammy, give it to her.”

Sam took the recorder and handed it to Makenna in the back seat. She took it and push the play button. Immediately, John’s voice came out of it through a lot of static.

“Dean, something is starting to happen, I think it’s serious. I need to try to figure out what’s going on… Be very careful Dean, we’re all in danger.”

Makenna frowned at that, this was a very dark warning, and John wasn’t usually that dramatic. She looked up to the boys but chose not to point out the gravity of the message, instead she concentrated on the case.

“Okay, what did you get from an EVP of that?” She asked, handing back the recorder to Sam.

Dean smiled slightly, he knew she was good. He let Sam rewinding the voicemail and replayed it for her to ear.

“I can never go home.” Said a feminine voice.

“Okay then, let’s go to Jericho.” Mac said, before a yawn interrupt the end of her sentence.

The boys smiled at her, she was exhausted. Sam turned on his seat to look at her.

“You should sleep now; we’ll wake you when we’re there.”

“Thanks.” She smiled, laying down on the seat.

Makenna sighed in satisfaction when she leaned back in the back seat of the Impala. She was back, and even if she was nervous and afraid of what might happen, it felt good. Dean was bearable, they had a clue of where to search for John and she was back hunting with the boys. It felt right. And for a moment, Makenna thought she could do it as if nothing ever happened. No Sam leaving. No fight with Dean. Just them. Their team. Just like before.

She fell asleep at this thought, listening to rock music in the background and the vibration of the engine.

☾SPN☽

Slowly stirring in her sleep, Makenna woke up with a ray of sunshine warming her face. She moved slightly, and almost fell off the bench of the car. That when she remembered Sam, Dean; it wasn’t a dream. She would have preferred it to be… She sighed and turned on her back. She noticed that the car was no longer moving. She opened her eyes slowly and straightened up in the back seat, stretching her back and yawning.

Sam heard her and turned from his position to look at her. He smiled gently, before returning to what he was doing.

“Good morning, sleepy head.” He smiled.

“Mornin’… Where’re we?” She murmured, not fully awake yet.

Sam chuckled, he knew that Mac wasn’t a heavy sleeper but he also knew that she wasn’t an early riser.

“We’re not far from Jericho, we just stopped for breakfast and gas.” He explained her, amused at her tired voice and yawns.

Suddenly, Dean came back from the shop and walked behind the car to talk to his brother.

“Hey. You want breakfast?” He asked, showing him the supplies he had bought for the road.

“No, thanks.” Sam answered, looking down at the box on his knees.

Dean shrugged and walked toward the back door. He tapped on the window and Makenna slid it down, frowning confused, so she could talk to him. He bent down to the window frame and handed her a coffee and biscuits.

“Oh! Uh, thanks…” She exclaimed surprised, not expecting this but still relieved to see coffee.

She took the cup in her hand, grateful and drank some of it. He eyebrows shot up when the beverage hit her tongue. It was just like she liked it, Dean still remembered how she took her coffee and it disturbed her to know that he didn’t forget all the things about her. It was strange and very confusing.

Dean leant back when he saw her drinking her coffee and walked around the car. He could clearly see that she wasn’t comfortable with this. She was barely talking to him, unless it was for the case of because she had no other choice. She was polite, but he could see it was forced. He was uncomfortable too, he knew that what had happened couldn’t be forgotten, and he was afraid she was still angry at him. He was afraid, but at the same time, having her near him, just as before… He wanted things to go back to normal. Even if he knew it wasn’t possible. He threw a glance at her through the back window, she was looking at her phone, drinking her coffee. She had changed, she seemed more… Adult. More serious, less joyful. Was it his fault? Was it the job they were doing? He didn’t know. He didn’t know anything about her anymore. He tried to ignore the hurtful sting in his heart when he remembered that they were no longer as close as they used to be and walked towards the back of the car to pump gas.

Sam thankfully spoke up, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“So, how’d you pay for that stuff?” He asked, still looking at the box on his knees. “You and Dad still running credit-cards scams?”

“Yeah, well, hunting ain’t exactly a pro-ball career.” Dean answered.

“It should be. Some gratitude sometime wouldn’t be bad.” Makenna said lazily, popping her head out of the window of the car. It seemed to be a subject she was interested in.

“Yeah, agreed. But it’s not. Besides, all we do is apply. It’s not our fault they send us the cards.”

“No, it’s because they’re idiots.” Makenna agreed with a smile.

“Yeah?” Sam scoffed. “And what names did you write on the application this time?” He asked, sitting back in the car and closing his door while Dean got in the car too.

“Burt Aframian and his son Hector.” He informed.

Makenna almost split up her coffee at hearing that. She coughed a bit and leaned in between the front seats to look at Dean.

“Excuse me, did you say Hector?” She asked, trying frowning deeply, but a tiny smile on the corner of her lips. She wasn’t his best friend anymore, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t make fun of him.

“Yeah, whatever.” Dean said, a little embarrassed. It wasn’t him that choose the name, it was his father. Makenna snorted before leaning back in her seat. “Scored two cards out of the deal.” He continued.

“Sounds about right.” Sam said, a bit impressed.

The younger Winchester looked back at the box on his knees, Makenna became curious and leaned on the front seats again to see what he was doing.

“What’re ya doing?” She asked, frowning.

“Searching for music, in vain.” Sam answered her before turning towards his brother. “I swear man. You’ve got to update your cassette-tapes collection.”

“Why?” Dean asked, a bit defensive.

“Well, for one, they’re cassette tapes. And two… Black Sabbath? Motörhead? Metallica?”

“Hey! What’s wrong with Metallica?” Makenna exclaimed, slightly hitting Sam’s shoulder.

Dean took a cassette tape out of Sam’s hand and put it in the cassette player.

“It’s the greatest hits of mullet rock.” Sam said as if it answered everything.

“Well, house rules, Sammy. Driver picks the music… Shotgun shut his cake hole.”

Makenna couldn’t help but smile at that, it was actually a great line, maybe she would stole it. Sam just seemed annoyed.

“You know, ‘Sammy’ is a chubby 12-years-old. It’s Sam, okay?”

But Dean turned up the volume and Sam’s voice became hard to hear.

“Sorry, I can’t hear you. The music’s too loud.” He said, making Mac snort, how mature...

The car started and they hit the road again on the tune of Back in Black by ACDC. Mac bobbed her head to the rhythm of the music and sang along, looking out of the window.

Maybe it wasn’t the reunion she expected, but it wasn’t that bad.

 


	4. Chapter 4

_ Chapter 3 _

 

            “When you loved someone and had to let them go, there will always be that small part of yourself that whispers, “What was it that you wanted and why didn’t you fight for it?”. – Shannon Adler.

 

**_Jericho, California_ **

The drive was silent for a moment, expect for the music. It was a comfortable silence and Makenna enjoyed it while looking at the landscape from the window. She was honestly surprised by how well this was going so far. If she was honest with herself, she had feared that Dean was going to be cold and mad at her and that he would act just as he did seven years ago. But no, he was nice, a little distant and careful, but she couldn’t blame him, she was too. She was careful and discreet, testing the water, since she didn’t want to begin a fight when he had just asked for her help. She wanted this to go as well as possible until… until… Well, she didn’t know what was going to happen after they found John – if they found him. Was she going to leave them be, Sam returning to college, her to her hunter life with Bobby, and go on as if nothing ever happened? Or was she going to go back and hunt with them again, as in the old time? She couldn’t deny that it was a tempting offer, she had really missed the Winchesters, all the Winchesters. But, she knew that it wasn’t going to happen. Makenna rarely had a happy ending, she was apparently a magnet to bad things, ever since her childhood.

Mac shook her head, trying to erase her bad thoughts before it could affect her relatively good mood and leaned in between the front seats.

“Have you done any research yet?” She asked. “To find John, I mean.”

“No. I just went to pick Sam and then you.” Dean answered.

“Well, we could begin by simple things. The hospital or the morgue.” She suggested. “It’s generally the first thing police look at when missing people are reported. And it would be very reassuring for all of us if he isn’t at any of them.”

“You’re right, I'll make the call to the hospitals.” Sam said, nodded towards her while taking his phone.

“Okay, I’ll call the morgues then.” Mac agreed, doing the same as Sam. She called all the morgues she could think of that were near the last place John was supposedly staying. It was quick, there weren’t many of them. But none of them reported a dead man of the description of John that she had given them. It was a relief that he wasn’t dead, yet she still didn’t know where he was. Makenna ended her last call with a sigh and waited for Sam to do the same. She caught the look of Dean in the rearview mirror – it wasn’t the first time – but now she saw worry in his eyes. She tried to smile a bit, mostly to avoid to feel awkward, but it didn’t seem to be effective. Was he trying to tell her something? Or was he worry about his father? She frowned, she knew that Dean admired his father, he worshipped him like a god and he loved him, and she kind of wanted to tell him that it was going to be alright. But Dean wasn’t the same man she knew seven years ago. She didn’t know how to comfort him anymore and that realization made her feel uncomfortable.

“There’s no one matching Dad at the hospital.” Sam said finally, breaking her thoughts.

“Nor at the morgue.” She added, focusing back to the matter at hand. “So that’s something.” She said, looking at Dean briefly, uneasy.

Dean looked at her in the mirror and she saw the uncertainty in his eyes. But then he looked at the road, something catching his attention.

“Check it out.” He said, pulling the vehicle to the side of the road.

The young woman looked out the window and saw several police cars parked in front of a bridge. Many men in uniform were walking towards the crime scene and it pricked her curiosity. Dean and Sam were watching it too, when suddenly Dean leaned over to open the glove box. He pulled out a small box that she recognized too well. Sam on the other hand was surprised by its contents: many false IDs. Dean took one of them and handed it to Makenna. She frowned and took it, looking at it. Her eyes widened when she noticed her old alias that she used to have when she was hunting with him and his father.

“You kept it?” She breathed out, frowning deeply, surprised and confused.

She looked up to meet Dean’s eyes in the rearview. After their fight, Dean was clear; he didn’t want to see her ever again. So why would he still have that thing in his car? And why did he still have her number, now that she thought about it. Or even knew how she liked her coffee? It seemed that Dean hadn't completely erased her from his life after all. Makenna wasn’t sure if she would be happy about that or not. But she was sure confused, it didn’t make any sense, why would he tell her to go away, that he never wanted to see her ever again and still remembering those tiny details?

Dean didn’t answer her and quickly avoided her eyes. Instead, he looked at his shocked brother and smirked.

“Let’s go.” He said, stepping out of the car.

She tried to ignored the conflicted feelings she felt in her chest and stepped out of the car to catch up with Sam and Dean’s long legs. They walked in sync, standing in line, and they arrived just in time to hear two policemen talking. They were looking at a car that was left there. Makenna immediately noticed that there was no blood, no sign of struggle. Strange…

“It’s spotless. It’s almost too clean”. The police man said, confirming her thoughts.  

“So, this kid, Troy…” began the other police man. “…was dating your daughter, wasn't he?”

“Yeah.”

“How’s Amy doing?”

“Putting up missing poster downtown.” The first one answered and Makenna felt kind of bad for the poor girl that just lost her boyfriend.

“You fellas had another one like this just last month, didn’t you?” Dean suddenly asked, making their presence known to the others.

The sheriff was apparently surprised by the sight of all of them. He leaned back up and looked at them, confused, but on guard.

“And who are you?” He asked.

“Federal Marshals.” Makenna said while flashing her badge at him quickly. Too quickly for him to noticed that it was old. And false.

“You’re a little young for marshals, aren’t you?” The man asked her, skeptical.

“Thanks. That’s awfully kind of you” Dean said, making her have to hold back a smirk.

“We’ll take it as a compliment, thanks.” She said, trying to remain serious. “But you never answered his question. You did have another one like this, correct?” She asked again.

“That’s right.” The man said. “About a mile up the road. There have been others before that.”

“So this victim…” Sam spoke for the first time in a while, making Makenna look up at him. “You knew him?”

 “Town like this everybody knows everybody.” He answered, nodding at Sam.

“Any connection between the victims beside they’re all men?” Dean asked, walking behind the car, Mac following him absent-mindedly, looking at the inside of the car.

“No. Not as far as we can tell.”

“So what’s the theory?” Sam asked, walking toward the other side of his brother.

“Honestly? We don’t know.” He answered. “Serial murder? Kidnapping ring?”

“Creepy monsters?” Makenna murmured under her breath. “Or just incompetent policemen.”

Dean looked down at her and tried to refrain from a small smirk. She seemed to be thinking the same thing as him.

“Well, that is exactly the kind of crack police work I’d expect out of you guys.” He said aloud. Makenna’s head shot up to looked at him in shock and - despite her resentment - amusement. Even more so when Sam stepped on his foot abruptly.

“Thank you for your time.” Sam said with a forced smile. Makenna was now trying not to rolled her eyes, she should have known that they were going to act like perfect kids.

“Have a good day, gentlemen.” She said before walking back with the two brothers.

Sam was in the front, Dean, just behind him and at the end was Makenna. She could see Sam shaking his head, upset, and it made her smile a bit, reminding her how often it had arrived in the past. Dean looked back to see if the policemen were looking at them, then, when he was sure they weren't, he slapped Sam’s head, while Makenna had difficulties to not rolled her eyes at their behavior.

“What was that for?” Sam hissed in a low voice.

“Why step on my foot?” Dean snapped back angrily.

“Why do you talk to the police like that?” Sam added. Dean looked at his brother then walked in front of him to make him stop.

“Come on. They don’t really know what’s going on. We’re all alone on this. If we’re gonna find Dad, we gotta get the bottom of this ourselves.”

“Uh, guys…” Makenna murmured, looking behind Dean’s shoulder. He looked at her and noticed that she was glancing behind him. He turned to see three men.

“Can I help you boys?” One of them asked, and Makenna looked at him, ready to complain. “And girl.” He added after having saw her look.

“No, sir. We were just leaving.” Dean said. The others men passed them to go to the crime scene. “Agent Mulder. Agent Scully.”

They all walked towards the Impala, in silence. Sam was still upset because of Dean’s behavior but Makenna couldn’t help but smile. How many times was she upset because of his behavior? She couldn’t count anymore, now, she was just letting it slide, she was used to it.

“Well, it went pretty well.” She declared, trying to fill the silence that was making her uncomfortable.

Sam snorted but said nothing.

“Where to now? Town I suppose?” She asked again.

“We need to find the girlfriend.” Dean said. “Interview her. Maybe she'll know something.”

“Right. Then let’s go.” She said, walking in the car.

During the drive, Sam was silent and it bothered Mac. So she leaned up to look at him.

“You alright, Sammy? Still upset because of your big bro?” She asked playfully.

“You were pretty good back there. You often pretend to be marshal?” He asked instead of answering her question.

“Well, yes sometimes. I’m still a little too young for that, so I prefer to pretend to be a private detective or something like that.” She answered, honestly. “But, you weren’t too bad yourself. I thought you were still a bit rusty. Isn’t what you said, Dean?” She asked, turning her attention to the driver.

“He is rusty.” He said, smirking. Makenna looked back at Sam putting on a thoughtful face before smirking. She wanted to tease him a bit. “Yeah, I think you’re right.” She finally agreed.

Sam rolled his eyes but couldn’t help but smile a bit. Mission completed, Makenna thought. Few seconds later, they were entering the town. Makenna was looking out the window carefully, trying to find something that could lead them to the girl, or to a motel. She noticed a girl that was putting up missing poster on the wall of an old theater. Mac put a hand on Dean’s shoulder and looked at him in the rearview.

“Dean stop the car.” She said, before quickly realizing what she just had done. She quickly pulled hack her hand off his shoulder as if she had been burnt and looked away. The old habits were hard to die, even after seven years.  

Dean didn’t question her when he noticed her behavior, and parked the car on the side of the road without a word. He stopped the motor and turn to look at her but she was already opening the door to step out. He frowned and stepped out too. Sam looked at his brother strangely. If it had been him that asked him to stop, he would have questioned him, but not with her. He just listened to her and then followed her. And Mac, she had act as if she had done something wrong. It was so strange, when they were on the crime scene, they were thinking the same thing, as if they only needed a look to understand each other. But at the same time, they acted with caution around the other, as if afraid of doing a bad thing. They were tip-toeing around each other as if at any minute, one of them would explode. Maybe that’s what they were afraid about. That one of them would shout about the fight they had? Sam knew that they haven’t talk to each other after that day, not even to explain themselves. Was it why there was so much tension between them? Sam thought he would have to do something before the tension get too thick to be bearable. Before they fight again.

He stepped out of the car too, and caught up with the two older hunters. They were watching at a girl that was putting up missing posters.

“I bet you that’s her.” Dean said, walking towards the girl but eying carefully Makenna.

“Yeah.” Sam answered, walking between them. He leant on Mac’s shoulder, a tad worried. “You’re alright?”.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” She asked, frowning, but she knew. Sam was smart, and he must have noticed how she’d reacted in the car. But she preferred to ignored it. “You must be Amy.” Makenna said when she got near the girl.

“Yeah.” She answered them, and stopped putting up posters to look at them.

“Troy told us about you.” Dean joined in. “We’re his uncles and aunt. I’m Dean, this is Sammy and Mac.”

“He never mentioned you to me.” Amy said, going back to her job of the missing posters.

“That’s Troy, I guess.” Dean chuckled.

“Yeah, you know, we’re not around much.” Makenna jumped in the conversation, smiling kindly at the girl.

“We’re up in Modesto.” Dean added.

“So, we’re looking for him too…” Sam said, walking in front of Amy to stop her from walking away. “… And we’re kind of asking around.”

Suddenly, another girl appeared at their sides to ask to Amy if she was okay. Makenna assumed that she was one of her friends. She didn’t blame her for being protective of her friend. They had just seemed to bother Amy and the poor girl was having a hard time since her boyfriend was missing. But Makenna thought it was a perfect occasion to interview both of them.

“So, if you don’t mind, we’d like to ask you a couple questions. It could help us find him.” She said, offering them a small smile.

Amy and her friend looked at each other, both skeptical, before accepting. They led them to a small café and they all sat in a booth. The two girls were on one side while Sam and Dean were on the other. Makenna eyed the booth where the boys were sat in. She could have joined them, she wasn’t very tall, she could have fit, and she knew she had already done it before. But this time, she couldn’t. Sitting so near of Dean, being so close to him, she couldn’t bear it. Not now, she wasn’t ready and she wasn’t sure she’ll ever be. So, she took a chair from a nearby table and sat at the end of the table.

“I was on the phone with Troy. He was driving home.” Amy said sadly. “He said he would call me right back. But… He never did.”

“He didn’t say anything strange or out of ordinary?” Sam asked quietly.

“No. Nothing I can remember.”

Makenna offered a look of sympathy to the girl, she couldn’t imagine how she felt right now. Feeling that she was becoming a little emotional, Mac tried to change the subject for a moment. She instantly noticed the necklace of the girl, it was something very familiar to her.

“I like your necklace.” She said.

Amy looked down and took her pendent between her fingers. “Troy gave it to me. Mostly to scare my parents with all that devil stuff.” She chuckled.

Sam chuckled too, while Mac just smiled. She glanced at Dean who was strangely silent. He was just sitting there, looking at nothing, until he felt her eyes on him. He looked at her and offered her a small smile. She maybe hadn’t seen him in seven years, but she knew that something was on his mind. His father? His brother? The case? Or her? Makenna couldn’t ask him now. Instead, she smiled awkwardly back at him and turned quickly to look at Amy.

“Actually, it means just the opposite.” Sam began to explain. “A pentagram is protection against evil. Really powerful. I mean, if you believe in that kind of thing.”

 “Okay.” Dean spoke for the first time. “Thank you, Unsolved Mysteries.” He sat up on the bench and leaned across the table, entering the space Makenna had just left. “Here’s the deal, ladies. The way Troy disappeared… something’s not right. So if you’ve heard anything…”

Amy and her friend looked at each other as if passing a secret message, as if they knew something. Makenna sat straight up and looked at them curiously.

“What is it?” She asked.

“Well, it’s just… I mean, with all these guys going missing, people talk.” Amy’s friend said.

“What do they talk about?” Sam and Dean said at the exact same time, in perfect synch.

Makenna raised her eyebrows in surprise and slowly turned towards them to look at them. The boys looked at her, but they didn’t seem bothered by what they just did.

“Well, that wasn’t creepy at all…” She mumbled under her breath, before she turned back to the girls.

“It’s kind of this local legend.” She continued. “This one girl, she got murdered out on Centennial, like, decades ago. Well, supposedly she’s still out there. She hitchhikes. And whoever picks her up… well, they disappear forever.”

Makenna slowly turned to look at the boys, they were already exchanging a knowing look before they both turned towards her. She smiled; they finally had something to work with. They all stood up and thanked the girls.

Once outside the café, they all walked towards the Impala. They headed to the library to do some research.

 


	5. Chapter 5

_ Chapter 4 _

 

            “If only. Those must be the two saddest words in the world.”

– Mercedes Lackey.

 

**_Jericho, California_ **

The doors opened and they all walked in. Sam and Makenna had agreed that archives were the best way to find something, but looking in books and old newspapers was going to be long and hard, so they all opted for computers. Dean, being the older one, claimed the computer as his and sat down in front of the screen. Sam sat on his right and Mac on his left.

Quickly, Dean clicked on the link that lead to the archives of Jericho, but before he could search anything, a window opened asking for a password.

“Son of a bitch.” He grumbled, leaning back on his seat.

“Archives are protected by password…” Sam said thoughtfully. “It’s gonna be hard to find something.”

“I don’t think so.” Makenna said, standing up.

“Where are you going?” Dean asked, confused, looking up at her. Makenna was tying up her hair.

“I’m going to get the password, Dean.” She answered as if it was obvious. “It’s not my first trip. Just wait for me.”

“Yeah, and you think they’ll just give you the password because of your pretty face?” Dean asked, amused but skeptical.

“No” She trailed off, hesitating. “They’ll give the password to a poor student who’s working on a project about the city and who needs to get into the archives to get a good grade.” She answered smiling a bit.

Sam and Dean exchanged a look, looking impressed. Sam smiled, amused. “It’s smart.” He nodded.

“Thanks Sammy.” She said proudly, walking away to the reception.

“It’s Sam!” He called back at her, trying to keep his voice down, they were in a library after all.

“No, it’s not.” She called back in a sing-song voice.

Dean couldn’t help but smirk at that. Sam bent and shook his head, defeated but still amused. He was now sure that he couldn’t get rid of this nickname. Even if he was taller than her or his brother, he would always be little Sammy, because he was the younger one and because Dean and Makenna still saw him as their little brother. Makenna wasn’t blood, but she was as a big sister to Sam and, even if they didn’t have much contact lately because of his departure for college and her and Dean’s fight, she was always going to be.

“She hasn't changed since the last time I saw her.” Sam said with a smile, remembering old adventures.

“Same old Mac.” Dean agreed, next to him, but his tone was more thoughtful.

“How are you doin’?” The younger asked, looking carefully at his brother’s face, studying him.

“Fine, why?” Dean asked, confused, looking back at his little brother.

“Well, with Mac…” He hesitated. “I mean how are you feeling with her here after all that happened? You both act like nothing ever happened, but really, how are you feeling?”

Dean looked straight in front of him, his face stern for a moment. Sam thought he was going to change the subject, because that’s what he always did when he didn’t want to talk about something personal or involving emotions. But then, Dean looked down at his hands and sighed.

“Honestly? Good. I feel good.” He admitted, looking back at Sam’s surprised face. “She was my best friend. We knew each other better than we knew ourselves. I missed her, a lot.”

“But?” He asked, knowing that tone.

“But, we’re obviously not going back to what we used to be.”

Sam agreed and looked down for a moment, thinking. Dean was being unusually honest, and it was a little odd. But he was curious and now was his best chance to get answers. So he looked back at his brother and hesitated a moment.

“You never told me why you fought that day.” He said quietly. “And neither one of you ever talked about it.”

Dean didn’t look up. He was avoiding any eye contact. He knew that Sam was dying to know what had happened that day. But Dean wasn’t going to tell him. For many reasons. The first was that he didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t want to be reminded of that horrible day and all they shouted at each other and the pain and guilt he felt. The second was that he wasn’t the sort of guy to confess in, no way was he going to tell his brother all the bad that he had done and that he had said. But one of the biggest reasons was that if Sam knew what had happened, he would want to try and fix it. Sam was that sort of guy, he wanted to fix everything. If he knew what had happened, he would try and put them back together as best friends, but Dean knew that that was useless. No way Makenna was going to forgive him for what he said. He wasn’t a fool, she wasn’t here for him, she was here because of John. And only for John.

“It’s in the past.”

“Exactly.” Sam exclaimed. “It’s in the past. You could be best friends again, you could forget what happened and be as you used to be.”

“We can’t forget what happened. No one can forget what I did.” Dean nearly whispered, his voice pained.

Sam frowned, slightly worried of the gravity of his brother’s voice.

“Dean. What happened?” He asked, carefully.

Dean felt his heart skipping a beat in his chest. He couldn’t tell him, he wasn’t going to tell him, but how could he avoid the subject now? Suddenly, someone sat down next to him, surprising him. Dean and Sam looked to the side to see Makenna sitting there with a huge smile. She raised her hand, revealing a piece of paper stuck between her two fingers.

“Guess who got the password?” She said proudly.

Dean didn’t hesitate a second, he took the paper with a huge smile, grateful for the distraction.

“Ha-ha! Mac, you’re the best.” He said, tapping the password on the keyboard.

“I know.” She said, frowning, actually feeling a little shy.

Sam tried to smile but couldn’t. He still didn’t know what had happened and the conversation with his brother made him think that it was much more serious than he had first thought. And then, he was forced to see them, pretending that everything was alright, only to be reminded once in a while that it was fake. If only he was there when it had happened. He could have done something. If only he could have make Dean talk to him or Makenna. If only he knew.

Dean tapped on the keyboard when the window of the archives popped up on the screen. He clicked on the search bar and tapped “Female Murder Hitchhiking”. But the computer showed no results. He tried again but with “Female Murder Centennial Highway” this time, but once again, he founds no results. Makenna sighed, defeated and Sam was losing patience.

“Let me try” He said, trying to reach the keyboard.

“I got it.” Dean said, chasing his hands away.

And as the very mature man Sam was, he pushed his brother’s chair. Dean rolled away and crashed in Makenna’s chair, pushing her away from the desk as well.

“Dude!” Dean and Mac exclaimed in unison.

But Sam didn’t pay any attention to them and took his brother’s former place, tapping on the keyboard, focused. Dean slapped his shoulder and pulled his chair back next to Sam.

“You’re such a control freak.” He grumbled.

Mac tried to pull back her chair next to Dean, but noticed that now, she was far away from the computer and couldn’t see the screen anymore. She looked to the other side of Sam but no chair was there and she couldn’t go around him without climbing over the both of them… She huffed, and pouted.

“Okay…” She grumbled, vexed.

Dean looked at her, confused, then looked back at the computer and instantly understood. She couldn’t see a thing. He looked back at Sam, but he didn’t seem to notice. He was going to say something, maybe asking Sam to go away so Makenna could see, but before he could form a world, he saw a chest passing in front of him. He leant back in his seat abruptly, surprised.

Makenna had stood up and had leant on the table to grab the computer screen, passing in front of Dean’s face in the process. She grabbed it and pulled it towards her so it was in the middle of them.  

Makenna smiled like a child at her work and sat down on her chair, finally seeing what was on the screen. Once she was comfortable, Dean smirked and shook his head a little and focused back on the computer. But Sam wasn’t doing anything so he looked up to noticed his little brother watching her strangely.

“What?” He asked him.

“Nothing, it’s just…” He hesitated, looking at Makenna.

“What? I couldn’t see a thing!” She said. “I don’t really want to lie down on the table to see, even if the guy behind wouldn’t complain.” She said with a smirk.

“Oh please!” Sam grimaced at the subtext. He knew she was joking, but still.

“Hey, don’t complain. You’re the one that pushed me away.” She reprimanded.

“I pushed Dean away.”

“Who pushed me away because of you, so it’s the same really.” She said, crossing her arms on her chest.

“Don’t argue with her.” Dean suddenly said, shaking his head. “Trust me, she always wins.” He said with a tiny nostalgic smile.

Sam looked at the both of them before shaking his head. They were exactly the same! No wonder they were best friends. But he couldn’t think of that now, they had a job to do. He turned towards the computer and began to think aloud.

“So angry spirits are born out of violent death, right?” He asked, turning his head slightly towards Dean and Mac.

“Yeah.” Dean answered, slightly annoyed to be on the side.

“So maybe it’s not murder.” Sam thought.

“What could be more violent that murder?” Makenna asked, confused.

Sam didn’t answer and tapped on the keyboard. Dean and Mac looked at what he was writing and noticed that he had changed “Female Murder Centennial Highway” to “Female Suicide Centennial Highway”

“Oh…” Mac nodded, understanding now. She was slightly irritated with herself, she should have known… Her, more than anyone.

Sam click on the “enter” button and they all waited for a result. Miraculously, they had a match. Dean raised his eyebrows, surprised and looked sideways at his brother, slightly impressed and annoyed at the same time.

“This was 1981.” Sam read. “Constance Welch, 24 years old, jumps off Sylvania Bridge. Drowns in the river.”

“Does it say why she did it?” Dean asked.

“Yeah.” Sam said, surprised.

“What?” Mac asked, looking at Sam curiously. She turned towards the screen but couldn’t read what was written, the police were too small.

“An hour before they found her, she calls 911.  Her two little kids are in the bathtub. She leaves them alone for a minute and when she comes back, they aren’t breathing. Both die.”

“God…” Makenna murmured, sad and horrified.

“’Our babies were gone, and Constance couldn’t bear it’ said husband Joseph Welch.” Sam continued to read.

“That bridge looks familiar to you?” Dean asked, pointing at a picture in the article.

“Okay. So, let’s go find this Constance.” Mac said, standing up from her chair.

☾SPN☽

Night had already fallen when they parked by the bridge. They all left the Impala and walked toward the edge of the bridge. Many feet below, was the agitated river and Makenna couldn’t help but shiver at the thought of Constance jumping.

“So this is where Constance took the swan dive.” Dean declared, looking down at the water.

“That’s a hell of a fall…” Makenna agreed, looking down too.

“So you think Dad would have been here?” Sam asked, turning towards his brother.

“Well, he’s chasing the same story and we’re chasing after him.” Dean answered.

Makenna couldn’t help but noticed that it wasn’t a yes nor a no. And she knew that when Dean did that, it meant that he wasn’t sure or didn’t know himself. And it wasn’t reassuring. Yet, she didn’t say anything. John was a friend and in some ways her hero, but he was first of all Sam and Dean’s father, so she shouldn't interfere. She was just here to help. Nothing more, nothing less.

Dean walked away from the edge, looking around and Sam followed him, few steps away. Makenna stayed were she was, watching them silently.

“Okay, so now what?” Sam asked, not satisfied with Dean’s answer.

“We keep digging till we find him. Might take a while.” He answered, obviously.

 Sam stopped in his tracks. “Dean. I told you. I’ve gotta get back by Monday…”

“By Monday.” Dean said at the same time, turning towards him. “Right. The interview.” Dean recalled.

Makenna walked towards Sam with a smile. “Hey, that’s great.” She exclaimed quietly. She always had been proud of Sam’s new life.

“Yeah, thanks.” Sam said

“Yeah, I forgot.” Dean added. “You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?” He suddenly asked. “You think you’re just gonna become some lawyer? Marry your girl?”

“Maybe. Why not?”

“Does Jessica know the truth? Does she know about things you’ve done?”

“Dean. Leave it.” Makenna tried to say.

“No. And she’s not ever going to know.” Sam said, ignoring Mac.

“Well, that’s healthy.” Dean remarked.

“Dean!” Makenna exclaimed, trying to stop what she knew was going to happened inevitably.

“You can pretend all you want, Sammy. But sooner or later you’re gonna have to face up to who you really are.” He continued, walking away.

Sam immediately walked after him. “And who is that?”

“You’re one of us.” Dean exclaimed.

“No. I’m not like you.” Sam protested walking in front of his brother to stop him. “This is not going to be my life.”

“You have a responsibility.”  Dean said, less amused now.

“Guys, please stop.” Makenna begged behind them.

“To Dad? And his crusade?” Sam continued, angry now.  “If it weren’t for pictures, I wouldn’t even know what Mom looks like.” He said, his voice getting more emotional.

Makenna didn’t like it. She could sense the pain in Sam’s voice, and she could easily see Dean’s back getting rigid by anger at the mention of his mom. She knew how it was going to end, they had already had that sort of fight before, the last one was just before Sam left. And she knew that it would be violent.

“Alright, stop now.” She said, her voice stronger.

“And what difference would it make?” Sam ignored her still, too deep in emotion. “Even if we find what killed her… Mom’s gone, and she isn’t coming back.”

Before Makenna could say anything more, Dean grabbed Sam’s collar and pushed him hard against a pillar of the bridge and held him there.

“Dean!” Makenna shouted, trying to pull Dean by the shoulder to keep him away from Sam. But he was strong and angry and she couldn't manage to make him move.

Dean was focused on Sam, staring him in the eye and didn’t say anything for a few long seconds. Makenna stopped pulling him. She was panicking now, her breathe was faster and her heart was going crazy in her chest. She tried hard to hold back, but she could feel her throat tightening and tears blurring her sight.

“Dean. Please, stop.” She begged in a soft and sad voice.

Dean felt his heart skipping a beat, he had already heard her pleading at him like that. He had already heard that sadness in her voice and old memories suddenly attacked him.

_⌋_ _“Dean stop.” She said, tears in her eyes._

_“You didn’t think about the job and the lives that you had to save. You only thought about yourself. You have been egocentric.” He continued, approaching her, his voice stronger._

_“Dean please, stop it.” She said, voice shaking._

_“You’re not even a decent hunter. You don’t deserve to be a hunter. You messed up the job, you got yourself hurt and almost got killed!” He ended in a shout._ _⌊_

He blinked a few times, trying to get rid of the painful memories. He glanced at Makenna for a moment and saw the fear, the uncertainty and the sadness in her eyes and he knew that she was thinking about it too. Not wanting to hurt her as he hurt her in the past, he looked back to his brother that was still held back.

“Don’t talk about her like that.” He said in a soft voice before releasing his brother from his grip.

He instantly turned his back to them and walked away, still angry about the fight he just had with his brother, but mostly ashamed. Makenna had looked so panicked, as if it was her he was shouting at, as if they were back seven years ago. He should have known that she was still affected by what he had done, what he had said. He should have known that she wasn’t going to forget, to forgive…

Mac immediately look at Sam, a questioning look on her face.

“Are you alright?” She asked, checking if he was hurt.

Sam nodded, assuring her he was fine and gently pushed her away a little, when she was still checking on him.  

“Are you?” He asked, taking her shaking hands in his.

“Not really.” She admitted. “Memories.” She only said for explanations.

“I think you should talk to him.”

“I-I can’t!” She panicked immediately.

“I wasn’t talking about that.” He reassured her. “But you’ve always been the only one to calm him down. You should talk to him. He need a friend right now.

“I’m not his friend anymore.” She said, the words hurt her more than she had expected to.

Sam looked at her pointedly, and she know what he meant. Dean needed her. She may not be his friend anymore; she was still the once that knew him best. She looked up at Sam, as if searching for reassurance. He nodded, silently telling her that it would be alright and she instantly ran after Dean. She hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder and walked in front of him to stop him.

“Hey, you alright?” She asked carefully, full of concern but still hesitant.

“Yeah.” He grumbled.

“You sure?” She asked again. “I know how you feel about…” She hesitated, not knowing if she could say Dean’s mother’s name or not.

“Mac, I’m fine.” He said seriously.

“Dean.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t have any right to tell you what to do, but Sam has made a choice, he’d chosen to quit this life. He’s happy now, and I know you don’t like it, but please, don’t push him. He’s here to help you, and you should respect his life’s choices.”

“I know. I know…” He said, more softly now.

“I know you miss him.” She said.

“No, I just-” He tried to deny.

“Don’t deny it. I know you. You miss him, that’s why you asked him to help you. But please, before you try to bring him back in this life, think about what you would do if you could quit. I know you had already thought of it. You told me once, you wanted to be fireman.” She added with a smile.

“That was before. But you’re right.” He agreed.

Makenna looked up at his face and smile fondly. Somewhere deep inside her, she wanted it to work. She wanted them to forget what had happened and be back as they used to be. But before Makenna could think any more about it, Dean’s smile disappeared and he looked behind her.

“Sam.” He called.

Sam walked to them and Makenna turned around. They all looked at a woman standing on the edge of the bridge in a white dress. She looked at them and let herself fall. They all ran towards the edge and looked down, but they saw nothing.

“Where’d she go?” Dean asked.

“I don’t know.” Sam answered.

Suddenly, an engine sound and a sudden light caught the attention of all of them. They turned to see the Impala. Makenna frowned, she didn’t like this.

“What the--?” Dean exclaimed and it didn’t reassure Makenna.

“Who’s driving your car?” Sam asked.

“No one. He had the key.” Makenna said at the same time Dean pulled out the key of is pocket. “I think running would be a good idea now…” She mumbled.

Suddenly the car started and charged them. They all jumped, looked at the car and started to run.

“Run!”

“Go! Go!” Dean shouted.

They all ran but the car was faster than them, the Impala came closer and closer.  Makenna was running alongside Sam, the adrenaline running through her veins. When the car was closing in on them, they all turned and jumped over the edge of the bridge. Makenna held tight to the pillar, but she slid and almost fell and the only thing that saved her from falling was Sam’s hand wrapped around her wrist. He helped her up onto the rail of the bridge to safety. But Dean didn’t get that chance, he had had to jump and Makenna heard him land in the water.

“Dean!” Makenna shouted, afraid. Constance had jumped here, and she hadn't made it, so Makenna was terrified that Dean had been hurt, or worse.

“Dean!” Sam shouted too.

“Come on, please…” Makenna mumbled, worrying. “Dean!” She shouted again.

“Dean!” Sam shouted at the top of his lungs, worry showing for his brother.

“What?” Dean’s voice suddenly answered.

Makenna sighed in relief when she heard his voice. She searched for him in the water, but it was so dark so she had difficulty seeing him. He was crawling towards the bank, covered in mud.

“Are you alright?” Sam asked.

“Are you hurt?” Mac asked, too.

“I’m super.” Dean panted, annoyed, making an OK sign.

Sam sighed in relief and laughed. Makenna looked at him, laughing too. He climbed up back onto the bridge, then, leaned over to help her to climb up too. Once they were both back on the ground, they hugged, relived to be fine and alive.

Tonight was rough. And it was only the beginning. But they were safe and sound and that was all that counted for now.

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

_ Chapter 5 _

 

            “I don’t like to give up on people when they need someone not to give up on them.”

– Carroll Bryant.

 

**_Jericho, California_ **

Sam and Makenna both waited for Dean to came back on the bridge. They were standing in front of the impala, looking carefully around time to time to be sure that this Constance wouldn’t come back. Makenna had her arms crossed on her chest, waiting, looking at the car as if to see if the ghost had done something to her.

Sam looked at his friend from the corner of his eyes. She seemed lost in her thoughts and he didn’t want to disturb her, but more time he spent with her, and more he got curious about what had happened seven years ago. Really, that was so weird, if he didn’t know about the fight he wouldn’t have known it happened. Dean had acted awkwardly around her at first, as afraid of her reaction, but beside that, nothing seemed wrong. What sort of fight could make two best friends breaking their friendship for seven years? He knew that Dean could be violent with his words when he was angry and he knew that Makenna was very stubborn and proud. But still, what would have they had fight about that was so important?

The younger Winchester couldn’t think any further as his big brother approached them. He walked towards him, ready to put an arm around his shoulder as a brotherly hug, but quickly thought best of it. Dean was covered in mud still wet. And even if it was slightly disgusting, Sam couldn’t help the small smirk on his lips.

Dean didn’t even stop to ask them if they were alright, and walked directly to the front of the impala. Makenna frowned at that. Of course the first thing he’d be checking on would be his precious car. She said nothing but felt a little irritated by that. It wouldn’t have hurt him to at least ask them if they were alright. She could have understood if he hadn’t asked her, they were still in the observing phase of their reunion, but his brother! He could have asked his little brother, who, by the way, is a bit rusty and could easily have been hurt.

“Car all right?” Sam asked him, as Dean shut the front of the car.

“Yeah. Whatever she did to it, it seems all right now.” He answered, as he sat down on the bumper of the impala with his brother by his side.

Makenna, still arms crossed on her chest, just stood in front of them, still slightly irritated by the lack of concern towards them from Dean.

“That Constance chick, what a bitch!” Dean shouted, frustrated.

“Well, she doesn’t want us digging around, that’s for sure.” Sam said. 

“So, where’s the trail go from here, genius?” Makenna asked Dean, sarcastically.

Dean looked at her, slightly surprised by the way she had talk to him, but didn’t thought too much about it. For only answer, he threw his arms in the air, not having the slightest idea.

“Right.” She said, curtly. “Well, it’s late, it’s been a rough night, so I suggest we go find a motel.”

“That’s good for me.” Dean while standing up.

“Uh-uh. I’m driving.” She said, extending her hand for the key.

“Sorry what?” Dean asked, surprised.

“You’re covered in mud, you’re going to put mud across the wheel and the seat. Plus, you smell like a toilet.” She said smartly. “I’m driving.”

Dean looked at Sam who just shrugged, slightly amused. Finally, the older Winchester gave in, he knew she was right but he didn’t like the tone she was using with him. He gave her the key of the car and they all got in. Makenna wasn’t at her first try with the impala, she learnt how to drive with that car so Dean wasn’t really worried, but he was wondering what he had done to earn her irritation. Maybe she was just upset because of the attack of Constance?

The sun had already raised when they parked in the parking lot of a motel. The mud on Dean was completely dry but the smell was still there. They all walked in the hall and Makenna couldn’t help but smile at the look on the manager’s face when he saw them entering. They must be looking mad with Dean covered with mud.

“One room, please.” Dean said, throwing his false card on the register.

The old man behind the counter eyed Dean suspiciously before taking the card and observing it. Makenna frowned and thought a moment if he was able to tell it was a false.

“You guys having a reunion or something?” He asked suddenly.

“What do you mean?” Dean asked.

“That other guy, Burt Aframian.” The manager began. “He came in and bought out a room for the whole month.”

Dean turned to Sam then to Makenna. They thought the same thing. John. After renting the room and asking for the number of Burt’s room, they all walk in the corridors. Makenna was lost in her thoughts. What if John was near them, hunting the same thing. Then, she would just say hello and go back home in South Dakota. She was missing Sioux Falls and Bobby. But then what? Will it be like before? Will she continue to ignore Dean? Will he talk to her? Come to see her? So many questions already and they weren’t sure John was really there. She sighed silently. She was still unsure coming along was a good idea. Dean seemed to be as she knew him, kind and funny. But then, she seemed to be frustrated with him and she was constantly afraid of doing or saying anything that could bring her back seven years ago.

“Mac?” Sam asked, startling her.

“Uh?” She asked, focusing back on the real world. She noticed that they had stopped in front of a door. And it wasn’t theirs.

“You want to broke the lock?” The younger Winchester asked her.

“Well, Sammy boy, I could do it, but you’re the rusty one.” She said, smiling at him. “Show me your skills.”

Sam smiled slightly amused and kneeled down in front of the door. She smirked and turned her back standing in front of him and next to Dean to shield him from someone’s view. Makena put her hands on her back pockets and looked around. After an internal fight with herself, she turned her head to look at Dean. She immediately noticed the signs.

Makenna knew Dean well enough to know how to decrypt his face. She knew by the way his eyebrows were slightly frowned, the thin line his lips formed and the rigidity of his shoulder that Dean was anxious, worried. And she suddenly felt sympathy for him, despite her irritation towards him. She wanted to talk to him, to ask him if he was alright. But she didn’t know how he was going to react, she suddenly realized that she didn’t know him as well as before anymore. And it made her feel sad.

She suddenly heard the lock being undone and looked behind her to see Sam opening the door. He looked up at her with a smile and she felt proud of the man she considered like her little brother. She smiled proudly at him, patting his shoulder and entered the room. Sam smiled too, then looked back at Dean, that was still back to him. Sam forced himself not to roll his eyes and abruptly grabbed the back of the collar of Dean’s coat and roughly pulled him in.

They all stopped when they saw the state of the room. All three of them, standing in line, looked at the room with surprise and slight horror.

“Whoa.” Sam breathed out.

“Exactly my thoughts…” Makenna mumbled quietly.

They all looked at the messy and dark room, then after recovering from their shock, entered and searched for clues. Dean turn the nightstand’s light on and noticed a rest of sandwich, he sniffed it and immediately leaned back, groaning at the smell. First clue: John didn’t come here for a long time.

“I don’t think he’s been here for a couple of days at least.” Dean said, confirming her thoughts.

Sam was kneeled down near a ring of salt. He took some in his hands and looked up to look at them. Makenna immediately saw the worry in his eyes.

“Salt. Cat’s-eye shells.”  He listed. “He was worried.”

“He was trying to keep something from coming in.” Mac said looking down at the salt line in front of the door.

Dean walked next to the wall, looking at the paper and the photographs. Sam stood up and walked next to his brother.

“What do you got here?” He asked.

“Centennial Highway victims.” Dean answered, his eyes glued to the wall. “I don’t get it. They’re different men, different jobs, ages, ethnicities. They’re always a connection, right? What do these guys have in common?”

Makenna walked towards the other wall and looked at drawings about monster. Until one of them caught her attention. She turned the light on the nightstand and looked at a photograph. “Woman in white.” It said. And suddenly everything made sense for the young woman. She chuckled slightly, amazed by John’s job. Of course, he figured it out.

“John knew.” She suddenly said.

“What do you mean?” Dean asked.

“He figured it out.” She answered. Dean and Sam turned towards her, looking at her for explanations. “He found the same article we did. Constance Welch. She’s a woman in White.

“You sly dogs!” Dean quietly exclaimed, looking back at the victims’ photographs. Makenna didn’t have to look at his face to know he was smirking. She rolled her eyes, still frustrated. “If we are dealing with a Woman in White, Dad would have found the corpse and destroyed it.” He suddenly said, louder and turning towards Sam and Makenna.

“Yes, but she still attacked us last night.” Makenna pointed out, confused.

“She might have another weakness.” Sam agreed, looking at the wall intently.

“Dad would wanna make sure.” Dead said, walking towards them, joining them. “He’d dig her up.”

“You’re right…” Makenna agreed absent-mindedly. “Does it say where she’s buried?” She asked Sam, pointing to the article.

“No. Not that I can tell.” He answered.

“We’ll have to figured it out.” Makenna said.

“Yes… And if I were Dad, though, I’d go ask her husband. If he’s still alive.” Sam continued, tapping the photograph of Constance’s husband on the article.

“Why don’t you see if you can find an address.” Dean asked them. “I’m gonna clean up.” He added.

“Yes, you need it.” Makenna murmured under her breath, gaining a glare from him. She tried to sound frustrated, she tried to sound angry, but even if she wanted to, she couldn’t really be. Yes, he was frustrating, yes he was annoying. But it was Dean, it was part of him and… And she didn’t want to be mad at him for futilities like that. In fact, she wanted to avoid any sparks that could lighten a fight. So after her sentence, she threw him a little amused smile.

Dean wasn’t upset by her remark though. He was glad she was smiling again, mostly because of him. He had fear he had done something wrong to upset her. Right now, he wanted to tease her, to share his smelling mud with her, just to hear her scream in surprise and protest before she busted out laughing. That’s what he would have done seven year ago. Now? He wasn’t sure he was close enough to her to do so… Controlling himself, he began walking toward the bathroom, only to be called back by Sam.

“Hey Dean?”

He turned back to his little brother, eyebrows raised in a silent question.

“What I said earlier, about Mom and Dad…” Sam began. “I’m sorry-.”

Dean raised his hand towards him, stopping him from telling another word. Makenna fear an instant that he would say something idiot.

“No chick-flick moments.” He said. Makenna sighed of relief. She wasn’t expect that, it was idiot, but not what she had fear.

Sam chuckled at his brother. “All right. _Jerk_.”

“ _Bitch_.” Dean answered.

Makenna shook her head fondly, smiling at these two. “Aw guys, you’re gonna make me cry with your brotherly moments.” She said aloud, smiling. “Alright, Dean, go shower now, I can’t stand the smell anymore.” She added, pushing him in the bathroom.

“Wow, calm down, Shorty!” He grumbled slightly entering the bathroom.

“Hey! I’m not shorty! You’re just too tall!” Makenna answered instantly, as she always did when he used this nickname with her.

Sam remembered the day he came with that nickname. It was when Sam began to be taller than her, Dean joked that she was now the shorty one. She immediately protested, making them laughed. Dean just stuck with that nickname since that day. The younger Winchester looked at them two and chuckled slightly, glad to see them as back in old times. But something caught his attention and his smiled faded slightly. He walked towards the mirror and saw a photograph stuck in it. It was a picture of John, younger from several years, with a young Dean sat next to him and a young Sam in his arms. He smiled fondly at the picture while feeling sad and nostalgic at the same time. He then noticed someone else on the picture. Sat next to the young Dean, holding hands, was a young Makenna. She was smiling brightly.

“Oh god, that photo is so old!” Makenna exclaimed from behind him. She had sneak on him without him hearing her and was watching over his shoulder. Sam smiled fondly at her and handed her the picture. Makenna looked at it for a moment. She remembered when they took this. They were hunting together, John had insisted to take her with them because it was an easy hunt and the boys was missing her. John was like the uncle she never had. And she was glad to see that even if she wasn’t blood, even his John wasn’t the perfect parent, she was still a part of his family.

Was she still a part of his family, though? Seven years without giving news to any of them… She didn’t hear from John since his fight with Bobby. She didn’t saw Sam since he left for college. And Dean… Was she still a part of them? A part of the Winchesters?

Makenna wanted to ask Sam. He always has been a good person to listen to her when she was down. But when she turned to face him, he had his phone against his ear, a goofy smile on his face. She didn’t have to think long to know he was listening to his girlfriend’s messages. Not wanting to disturb him, she sat down at the table of the room and get out her laptop from her bag, starting to do researches on Constance Welch’s husband.

Not even ten minutes later, Dean was out of the bathroom.

“Hey guys, I’m starving. I’m gonna grab a little something to eat at dinner.” He announced walking in front of them to the door. “You want anything?” He asked his brother.

“No.” He answered, still listening to his phone.

“Aframian’s buying.” He said smiling. “Mac?” He asked turning towards her.

Makenna raised her head from the laptop, surprised he was asking her. She really thought he would leave without asking her if she wanting anything. He hadn’t asked if she was okay last night, so why would he do it for food? She opened her mouth to answered, still surprised, but didn’t get a chance to say anything.

“Let me guess. ‘Anything as long as you bring me back a donut.’” He said from memory, a smile on his face.

Makenna stayed stunned for a second. “God, you still remember that?” She asked, smiling herself now. It was what she answered him each time he went to get food. Donut was her favorite.

“Of course.” He answered scoffing at the thought he wouldn’t. He walked out the door with a small smile, leaving them alone in the motel room.

Not a minute later, Makenna’s phone rang. She took it, seeing Dean’s name on the screen. She frowned slightly and answered.

“You’re lost already?” She asked, trying to joke.

“Mac, five-0. Take off.” He said urgently.

Makenna didn’t question. She knew. They were in trouble. Dean was in trouble.


	7. Chapter 7

_ Chapter 6 _

 

            “I worry because I care. Gods help me, I know I shouldn’t, but I do. So I will always tell you to be careful, because I will always care what happens.”

– Sarah J. Maas.

 

**_Jericho, California_ **

The emergency in Dean’s voice was obvious and it didn’t reassure Makenna at all. She felt instant worry for him.

“What about you?” She asked, the worry creeping into her voice.

Her panicked voice caught the attention of the younger Winchester. He slowly stood up from the bed he was sitting on and walked towards Mac. He looked at her, and saw her wide eyes. He knew something had happened and he began to worry himself.

“They kind of spotted me.” Dean answered on the phone. “Go find Dad for me.”

“Okay.” She nodded even though she knew he couldn’t see her, she was too panicked to think straight. “Hey, be careful, you hear me?” She demanded desperately.

“Ain’t I always?” He asked before hanging out the phone.

Makenna sighed heavily. “No, idiot, and you know that.” She mumbled under her breath, putting her phone down. She looked up at Sam and see the worry on his face. She had to watch after him, he was rusty, he didn’t know how to escape cops anymore. She’ll had to get him out of here before they got them, then she had to think of a way to help Dean.

“What happened?” Sam asked, looking her intently.

“Cops.” She immediately answered, standing up to look through the window. She carefully slid the curtain on the side to see what was happening and saw Dean leaned on a police car, being cuffed. She nervously bit her bottom lip and began thinking of an escape route.

Sam walked behind her, wanting to see what was happening to his brother. His eyes went wide when he saw him being arrested, but then Makenna slid back the curtain. A cop was walking towards their door. She quickly, yet without a noise, put her laptop back in her bag.

“Take your stuff. We’re out.” She quietly ordered Sam.

“What about Dean?” He asked.

“We can’t do anything for him. He’s on his own for now.” She answered, walking in the bathroom.

When she noticed Sam wasn’t following her, she went back on her steps. He was looking at the door, still panicking and looking a little scared for his brother. “Hey. He’ll be fine. I promise you, but we can’t help him if we’re arrested too. Come on.”

Sam finally made the move to follow her. They went in the bathroom and opened the small window. Makenna looked at it, then back to Sam and feared for a moment that he wouldn’t fit. But a minute later they were out and running in the back of the building in search of a car.

“They won’t see us?” Sam asked her, following her through the cars. They were walking, bending down not to be seen while Makenna was searching for a car to steal.

“No. Shut up now.” She answered quietly, focused on what she was doing. Adrenaline was running in her veins and she was worried about Sam, about Dean, about John… Suddenly, she heard Sam dropping something. Makenna turned toward him, ready to reprimand him. When she turned, she saw him looking at the ground, looking surprised. She looked at the ground to the object that had fallen and suddenly, she felt hope. It was Dean’s car key. Sam had thought of taking Dean’s stuff, including his bag that he had thrown the key in.

She picked up the key and sighed of relief. She could have kissed it out of pure relief, but she quickly focused back on the matter at hand and ran towards the impala. They both got in and the engines started, taking them away from the motel. Away from the cops. But also away from Dean.

Makenna felt some relief going through her body as she drove the impala. The car always had been important to her, just as it had to Dean. It was sort of her home. It had been for long years when she was younger. It was the car she learned to drive in. It was where she slept on the long roads. It was in that car that she had met Dean Winchester for the first time. It was there she had smiled for the first time just after her parents’ death.

But even if the car was comforting her, panic was still running in her mind. Eyes focused on the road, her mind was somewhere else though. She was thinking about what to do next. Should she drive to the sheriff station and help Dean escape? Should she remain hunting the Woman in White? She had too many things to think at the same time. Dean. John. The ghost. What about Sam? Would she have to comfort him, reassure him?

“Mac?” Sam’s voice suddenly brought her back to reality.

“Hm? What?” She asked, eyes drifting to the side to look at him.

“You didn’t answer me.” He said, slightly worried by her behavior.

“I wasn’t listening…” She admitted with a sigh. “Sorry, Sammy. What did you say?”

“I said I think you should stop now. We’re far enough.”

“You’re right.”

Makenna slowed down and put the car on the side of the road. She cut the engines and sighed. She didn’t remember hunting with these two was as stressful as it was now. She tiredly rubbed her eyes. Sam looked at his friend from the shotgun seat. He began to worry for her.

“You alright?” He asked carefully.

“Yeah, just…” She hesitated.

“What?” He pressed her.

“I’m just worried; you know?” She finally admitted, looking in his eyes. “It’s been a while since I’ve worked with a team. I usually am on my own. I just had to think for myself. Now, I have to think about Dean, about you… It’s stressful. I’m not sure of what to do now.”

Sam felt for her. He understood what she was saying, what she was feeling. He put his hand on her knee and squeezed it reassuringly.

“You’re doing great.” He assured her.

For only answer, she snorted, not at all convinced. A small silence settled in the car. Makenna had her eyes fixed on blank space, lost in thoughts. She was biting her lower lip nervously; it was a gesture she used to do when she was worried or stressed. Sam noticed it and he became curious.

“You’re worried about Dean.” He declared quietly, afraid of disturbing her.

“Yes.” She answered absent-mindedly.

“You know; I would have thought that after all these years you would be more distant with him.” He remarked. He knew it wasn’t the time to talk about it, but he was too curious to wait any longer.

However, he didn’t expect Makenna to turn abruptly her head towards him, looking insulted.

“What does that mean?” She asked, suspiciously, frowning at him. Sam took a deep breath, already knowing that anything he was about to say would be the wrong thing.

“Well, you had a fight that broke your friendship – which I thought was unbreakable by the way – and got separated for seven years. Then, Dean suddenly calls you and you immediately agree to help him.” He tried to explain as carefully as he could. “And when I look at you two, it’s just like how I remember. You both still act like you were best friends. It’s strange. I don’t get it.”

Makenna stared at him, in the eyes, silent, for almost an entire minute. Sam was nervous now, afraid he had gone too far. He was wondering what her reaction would be, what she would say to that. But she only seemed to want to stare at him. Then she suddenly turned her head toward the window of the car, avoiding his look. Sam knew her, and knew he had hurt her somehow. Perhaps talking about it brought back bad memories. Maybe Makenna wasn’t over what had happened then.

“Dean was my best friend once. The best you could ever dream of having.” She suddenly said. Her voice was barely louder than a whisper. Sam knew it was because she was getting emotional and he suddenly regretted bringing the subject up. “He helped me. A lot. After my parent’s death, I was a mess, a wreck.” She continued, still staring out of the window. “He was there when I needed him. And I will always be grateful for that. So, it’s true we had a fight. It’s true that we went separates way. But Dean did so much for me. And today he need me, so I’ll help him as I can.”

She finally looked at Sam. He could see the emotion in her eyes and he regretted talking about it. But at the same time he was still curious, because it was as if she was trying to convinced herself.

“I can’t just forget all the good things he did for me in light of the bad. Dean called for my help; I’ll give it to him.” She said looking down at her hands. “Even if it hurt…” She murmured, more to herself than for Sam.

“I’m sorry, Mac.” Sam said, feeling bad for bringing her back sad memories.

“So, let’s get to work.” She exclaimed louder, smile back on her lips. It was as if this conversation had never happened. It was disturbing but Sam was used to it. Dean did it as well. 

He looked sadly at his friend, but Makenna didn’t see his look as she bent back behind the seat to grab her bag. She took out her laptop and gave it to Sam.

“I think I found the husband’s address. It’s not so far from here, we can get there quickly.” She declared, serious again.

“Okay, so let’s talk to him.” Sam agreed.

“You’re driving. I’m going to help Dean get out of his cell.”

Sam looked at her, surprised. “Really?” He asked, shocked that she was letting him driving Dean’s precious car. Makenna stopped half way out of the car to look back at the younger Winchester.

“Yes, but you had to promise me you won’t tell Dean. He’ll kill me if he knows.” She said seriously.

Sam chuckled and nodded. He got out of the car and took the driver’s sit. Makenna sat in the shotgun and took out her phone. She stared at it for a good minute, chewing on her bottom lip nervously. She had to think at something. Something subtle and smart to help Dean to get out.

She suddenly searched on the glove box for a map. She unfolded it and search something on it. Sam’s eyes drifted slightly to the side to look at what she was doing while he was driving to the address she gave him. When she found what she was looking for, she smiled proudly and took her phone. She called 911.

“Hello? Oh God you have to come quick!” She exclaimed as soon as someone answered her call.

Sam looked at her, surprised by the panic in her voice. She sounded so afraid, so panicked, it was pretty impressive.

“Please help! Someone shot a man! I think he’s dead!” She continued, sobbing slightly. “Whiteford road. Come quick!” She exclaimed before hanging the phone with a proud smile.

Sam looked at her a moment, surprised and impressed before looking back at the road.

“What was that?” He asked, stunned.

“How was I?” She asked, smiling like an excited little girl.

“That was… wow. Impressive. It’s sounded so real; how did you do that?” Sam said amused and awestruck.

“I always knew I was made out to be an actress.” She stage whispered to Sam.

Sam laughed, amused. He hoped it helped his brother getting out of trouble. For now, he was concerned about Constance Welch.

 


	8. Chapter 8

_ Chapter 7 _

 

            “My nightmares are usually about losing you. I’m okay once I realize you’re here.”

_ Suzanne Collins

****

**_Jericho, California_ **

Sam and Makenna drove all the way to the house of Constance Welch’s husband. The poor man was still emotive about his wife’s death. Sam tried to ask him some question. A woman in white was haunting the living world because she had an unfaithful husband during her live. But the guy was denying everything. Makenna tried to help Sam by insisting, but the guy get angry and asked them to leave. Makenna and Sam left but they still had they’re answer, he was unfaithful.

So now, Sam was back on the road with Makenna, driving towards the last house of Constance Welch. Maybe they could find an answer there.

Night had fallen already, and the only thing that could be heard in the car, was the radio. Makenna was tired, but tried to stay awake, for Sam and the case. She was slightly worried because she still hasn’t heard anything from Dean. She hoped her little trick helped him getting out, but she was wondering why she still didn’t have news.

Suddenly, her cell phone rang. She sat up straight abruptly and franticly searched for it. Once she had it, she put it on speaker.

“Fake 911 phone call, Mac? That’s pretty illegal.” Dean’s voice came out of the phone.

Makenna sight of relief at his voice and smiled at Sam, who seemed relived too.

“Saved your ass, didn’t it?” She said smartly. “You’re welcome by the way!”

“Hey Sammy’s listening?” He asked, his voice slightly worried.

“Yeah, you’re on speaker.” She answered.

“Okay, listen, we gotta talk.”

“Tell me about it.” Sam said proudly. “So the husband was unfaithful. We are dealing with a Woman in White.”

“She’s been buried behind her house, that’s where we’re going now.” Makenna added.

“Hey, you two! Would you shut up for a sec?” Dean cut.

“Dad’s would probably have checked it out. Why hasn’t he destroyed the corpse yet?” Sam asked, ignoring Dean.

“Well, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. He’s gone.”

“What?” Makenna asked, surprised.

“Dad left Jericho.” Dean said.

“What? How do you know?” Sam asked confused.

“I’ve got his journal.”

“His journal? But he doesn’t go anywhere without it…” Makenna thought aloud, confused.

“Yeah well, he did this time.”

“What’s it says?” Sam asked.

 “Same ex-Marine crap, to let us know where he’s going.”

“Coordinates.” Makenna nodded.

“Where to?” Sam asked.

“I’m not sure yet.”

“I don’t understand.” Sam sighed. “What could be so important that Dad would skip out in the middle of a job?”

Makenna looked at the little Winchester, shaking her head. She didn’t have the slightest idea either. It was strange from John to do that.

“Dean, what the hell is going on?” He asked.

Makenna raised her head and suddenly something white caught her eyes. She looked at the road and her eyes widen when she saw Constance standing in the middle of the road.

“Sam!” She screamed, afraid, dropping the phone.

“Whoa!” Sam screamed too, hitting the breaks.

Makenna put her hands on the dashboard, trying not to collide with it as the car stopped abruptly, the breaks cracking in protest. When the car stopped completely, both of the hunters were out of breath, eyes widen of fear looking at the road. The ghost went through it and disappeared but it sure gave them the fear of their lives.

“Sam! Mac!” Dean called out through the phone. He didn’t know what had happened, but the scream of fear of Makenna gave him the chill. His blood turned cold when he didn’t get any answer form either of them. He wasn’t there to protect them if anything had happened to them, and he would regret it all his life.

“Mac! Talk to me!” He tried again. But still nothing. He hung up and run toward the first car he saw. He was going to help his little brother and Makenna, no matter what.

Makenna and Sam looked at each other, silently asking if they were alright. Suddenly, a voice came out from the back seat, making them both jump.

“Take me home.” Constance said. 

Sam and Makenna looked at her, face blank. Constance was ignoring Makenna and fully concentrating on Sam. “Take me home” She insisted.

“No.” Sam said. As soon as the word left his mouth, the door locked by themselves and the car drove by its own.

“Sam, stop.” Makenna said, panicked.

“I can’t.” He said, as panicked as her.

He tried to turn the wheel or the hit the break, but nothing worked. They were trapped, and Constance was guiding them.

A few minutes later, the car stopped in front of an old and abandoned house. Makenna tried to open her door, but it was still locked. She looked at Sam then at Constance. She didn’t know what she wanted them to do. She led them here, but why?

“Don’t do this.” Sam said, making Makenna slightly panicked. Was she going to kill them just like she killed the other? She hoped not, beside, a woman in white wasn’t supposed to kill other women, right?

“I can’t never go home.” Constance said sadly.

“You’re scared to go home.” Sam noticed.

But when no answer came, the both turned in their seat to noticed that she was gone. Makenna looked at Sam, frowning. Then, suddenly, she felt a powerful strength grabbing her and throwing her in the back seat. Makenna screamed in fear, but she hit her head in the back door and lose consciousness.

“Mac!” Sam shouted, surprised and worried. But before he could reach to check on her, Constance was on him, sat on his lap.

“Hold me.” She said seductively. “I’m so cold.”

“You can’t kill me.” Sam said, confident. “I’m not unfaithful. I’ve never been.”

Constance lean on his ear and whispered: “You will be. Just hold me”. She then kissed him, but Sam never respond to her kiss. The ghost began to be angry at him for resisting her. She sat back and disappeared from sight. Sam sighed of relief, and looked back to see Makenna waking up.

“You’re alright?” He asked worried.

“I think so. You?” She asked, touching her hurt head.

But before he could say anything, he screamed of pain.

“Sam!”

He looked down at his chest to see claws holes in it. The ghost then reappeared, her hand in Sam chest.

Suddenly, three gunshots were heard and Constance disappeared crying out in pain. Dean was outside, shotgun in hand. Constance reappeared, so he shot again but they all knew it was useless.

“I can’t never go home, that’s what she said! Sam, drive in the house!” Makenna said franticly.

Sam understood immediately what she meant and start the car.

“I’m taking you home.” He said, before hitting the accelerator and driving straight into the wall of the house. Makenna gripped anything she could, preparing for the impact.

“Sam! Mac!” She heard Dean shouting.

Dean immediately run into the house after the car and called the name of his brother.

“Here!” Sam answered, grunting of pain.

“You okay?” Dean asked, worried.

“I think.” He answered out of breath.

“Can you move?”

“Yeah, help me get out.”

Dean grabbed his hand and help him out of the car, but as soon as he saw his brother was fine, he searched for Makenna.

“Mac?” He asked his brother.

“In the car.”

“Mac!” Dean shouted louder, but he didn’t get any answer.

He bent on the car to see on the back seat. He then saw Makenna laying there, blood on her forehead, eyes closed and he felt his blood turning cold.

“Mac!” He bent down to grab her and get her out of the car. He put her slowly down on the ground and gently checked on her pulse. She had one, it reassured him a lot. He gently tapped on her cheek to wake her up. After few seconds, she began to stir.

“Hey, Mac. Easy. Are you alright?” He asked, worried.

“My head hurt, but I’ll live.” She said through a grunt of pain. Dean looked at her head and saw that it was bleeding a little, he tried to touch it, but as soon as his fingers lay on it, she got away, wincing. She held out her hand for him to take. “Help me get up.”

He took her hand and gently help her up. She was wincing in pain at each move, so Dean wrapped an arm around her waist to stabilized her and keep it there to help her stand. “There you go.” He murmured.

“Thanks.” She smiled slightly through a grimace of pain.

“Guys.” Sam said suddenly.

They all three looked in front of them and saw Constance standing there. Suddenly a commode moved by itself and hit them hard, stopping them from moving. They all groaned of pain and tried to get out. Constance was about to attacked them when suddenly the light flickered. Water went down the staircase and two children were looking down at her.

“You’ve come home to us, Mommy.” They said. They suddenly appeared in front of her and hugged her, making her scream. They all three faded, melting on the ground with the last shout of Constance.

It was over.

The strength holding the commode disappeared, freeing them. Dean and Sam walked to the puddle that Constance left behind her while Makenna stayed near the car, needing it to stand.

“So this is where she drowned her kids.” Dean said, looking down at the puddle of water.

“That’s why she could never go home.” Sam confirmed.

“She was too scared to face them.” Makenna added, making them look at her.

“You found her weak spot.” Dean said to the both of them, impressed. “Nice work, guys.” He added, tapping the hurt chest of Sam, making him laugh through his pain.

“Yeah, I wish I could say the same for you.” Sam said. “What were you thinking, shooting Casper in the face, you freak?”

Makenna let out a breathy laugh at that before wincing in pain.

“Hey. Saved your ass.” Dean said, turning to look at his brother.

“That’s my line.” Makenna whine playfully.

“Yeah whatever.” He said, smiling. “I’ll tell you another thing. If you screwed up my car… I’ll kill you.”

The youngers two both laugh at that. Dean help Makenna getting back in the car and soon they hit the road. This job was done. Makenna survived a case with Dean. And even if she was pretty hurt, she was proud of herself. Maybe she could do it finally, maybe she could work with him. For John.

 

 

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

_ Chapter 8 _

 

            “When you’re scared but you still do it anyway, that’s brave.”

 _ Neil Gaiman

****

**_Stanford, California_ **

After checking on Sam and Makenna, Dean hit the road. The case was close, but they still haven’t found John. He was worried, but he wasn’t disappointed by what this trip taught him. It showed him that his father wasn’t too far, that Sam was still a good hunter even if he wasn’t practicing anymore, but most of all, it showed him that he maybe had a chance to forget the past with Mac. Maybe he could forget everything that had happened and showed her that he was a better man, a better friend.

Thinking about it, his eyes drifted towards the rearview to check on the girl. She was laying on the back seat, half asleep. She had clean up the blood on her face, but the bruises began to be obvious. He felt guilty for what had happened, to her and his brother. He should have been there for them, with them, to protect them. Makenna looked tired and he knew –even if she wasn’t complaining – that her head hurt. He felt so protective about her, even after all those years. It was strange, even for him. He didn’t really understand what he was feeling when he was near her. He was afraid, terrified to hurt her like he had once. He was haunted by the thought of doing something wrong and losing her all over again. But at the same time, he knew it was still his Mac. His best friend. He felt good next to her, as in old times. He remembered the good times they spent together, the laughs, the tricks they pulled on Sam and Bobby. He also remembered how close they were during cases, how in synch they were, how much they trusted the each other. He missed those times. But he couldn’t blame anyone else than himself. He knew it was his fault.

Sighing, Dean looked back at the road. Next to him was his brother, he was reading his Dad’s journal, lightening by a lamp torch. He looked at the coordinates, then looked at the map on his knees. He was looking at it for several minutes now, concentrated on his task. Because, even if he wasn’t in good terms with his father, he still wanted to find him. It was family.

“Okay, here’s where Dad went.” He finally declared, looking at the map.

Makenna raised lazily her head, trying to look at them, but she was too tired and her head hurt too much to move more.

“It’s called Black Water Ridge, Colorado.” Sam continued.

“Sound charming.” Dean remarked, eyes drifting to the map. “How far?”

“About 600 miles.”

“If we shad ass, we can make it by morning.”

Sam looked at his brother, hesitating. He was suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

“Dean, I…” He tried to say.

Dean looked at his brother, suddenly realizing. Makenna, who was listening, suddenly became aware of the awkwardness and straighten up in the back seat to look at them.

“You’re not going.” Dean said.

“The interview’s in 10 hours.” Sam answered, sounding really sorry. “I gotta be there.”

Dean looked away from his brother, focusing back on the road. He was nodding, but Makenna could see the disappointment in his eyes. She could tell by his pursed lips that he was trying not to respond anything mean. She put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, but it had few effect.

“Yeah.” He finally answered curtly. “Yeah, whatever. I’ll take you home.” He tried to smile, but it wasn’t very convincing.

Sam nodded and closed the light. They drove to Stanford in an awkward silence.

When they arrived in front of the building of Sam, the younger Winchester immediately walked off the car. He closed the door and lean on the window to look at his brother and friend.

“You’ll call me if you find him?” He asked.

“Of course.” Makenna answered while Dean nodded.

“Maybe I can meet up with you later, huh?” He suggested.

“Yeah, all right.” Dean answered quickly, feeling uncomfortable and still disappointed.

Sam nodded awkwardly and finally walked towards his building. Dean start the engine but didn’t start the car.

“Sam!” He called. The younger Winchester turned on himself, confused. “You know, we made a hell of a team back there.” He said, sounding proud.

“Yeah.” Sam answered. 

Dean was about to take off, but Makenna threw a look at Sam and she suddenly felt in distress. It maybe was the last time she saw him. She couldn’t bear that.

“Wait.” She said loudly, for Dean and for Sam to hear. She opened the door and ran slightly towards the younger Winchester. She smiled up to him and hugged him. Sam laughed, Makenna always has been a romantic, she was the most emotive of them all. He hugged her back, smiling.

“You had to promise you won’t become a selfish layer, rich and arrogant.” She mumbled. “Well, rich you can.” She added after thought.

Sam laughed at that. “I promise you.”

“Good.”

Sam looked at Dean, who was eyeing them from the car, curiously. “How are you going to do? With Dean, alone.”

“I… I don’t really know. I hope I can be strong enough, but I’m afraid.” She admitted.

“Of what?”

“I can’t stop thinking about it. What if I say something wrong? What if I do something wrong? I don’t want to go through that again, I don’t know him as well as before. I’m afraid I can’t handle that alone.”

“Makenna, you’re doing great.” He reassured her. “You don’t need anyone, because you’re doing perfect. Dean… He knows it’s difficult for you, it is for him too. I think you’ll have to talk with him about it. Everything’s going to be okay.”

“I hope so.” She smiled, a little reassured now. “I’ll miss you, Sammy.”

“I’ll miss you too, Shorty.”

They hugged once more, it was difficult to leave again. Then, Makenna went in the car, seating in the front, next to Dean. He looked at her, curious about what she had talked with his brother, but didn’t question her. He started the car and they drove out of Stanford.

“Everything’s fine?” He finally asked.

“Yeah, just, you know. Kinda hard to say goodbye again.”

He just nodded but didn’t say anything else. An awkward silent took place. Makenna looked out of the window, thinking. Thinking about what Sam just told her. Talking with Dean about it. She considered it and suddenly felt her heart beating faster with anticipation and anxiety. She turned towards him and looked at him, but said nothing. Dean, feeling her look on him, looked at her, confused.

“What?” He finally asked.

“Do you think it can work out?” She asked, out of the blue. “I mean us. Do you think it can be like before?”

Dean looked at her, disbelief, before looking back at the road. He was silent for a moment, and Makenna thought he wasn’t going to answered her. Maybe he wasn’t ready yet.

“I don’t know if it can work out.” He finally said, calmly. “But I’m sure of one thing. I want it to.” He concluded, looking straight at her.

Makenna looked at him and felt something new. Hope. She smiled a bit, as uncertain it was real, that this conversation was really happening. She felt relived more than she felt happy. She was still trying to wrapped her mind around his answer. She was going to speak but something caught her eyes.

The street lamps outside… the lights were flickering. She became suspicious, so she looked at Dean, but she didn’t need to say anything – he had seen it too. He stopped the car on the side of the road and they both looked the lights in silence. At first nothing happened, but then, all the lamp flickered at the same time.

There was no doubt. It was a creature.

“Sam.” Makenna breathed out, panicked.

Dean didn’t say anything, he abruptly turned the car and drove at high speed in the way they had just came from.  When they stopped in front of Sam building, they saw smoke and fire. Dean didn’t even bother to stop the engine, he got out of the car, shouting the name of his little brother and ran towards the door. Makenna got out of the car too, but she couldn’t follow Dean. She wanted to, of course she wanted to. Sam was like her brother, he was family, but the sight of the fire made her freeze.

She looked at it and felt her breath becoming short. She was panicking and suddenly, flashes of her past attacked her. She saw a glimpse of her younger self, looking out of the window of her Dad’s car, watching at her house on fire, crying for her Dad and her Mom, that never came out of the house. She closed her eyes, trying to chase the images away, but right after she opened them back, she remembered how she almost died in another fire, that left scars on her sides, and also on her heart, as it was the last time she had seen Dean.

Fire was what she feared the most; she had hated it for all her life, but now, she hated it more than ever because it was keeping her from saving Sam. The only thing she could think of, was calling the firemen.

Relief overwhelmed her when she saw Dean getting out of the building with Sam by his side. But her heart broke seconds later when she heard the agonizing shout of Sam, calling for his girlfriend.

She went towards them and hugged them both, relieved. She let Sam crying in her arms and looked at Dean. He shook his head sadly, Jessica was dead.

When the firemen came minutes later, Sam walked towards the car while Dean and Mac just stayed in the crowd, looking at the fire easing.

“What happened back there?” Dean suddenly asked.  

Makenna didn’t have to question him; she knew what he was talking about. His tone wasn’t harsh nor accusing and it kind of made her feel even worst.

“I saw the fire, and I just… I wanted to go with you, to help Sam. I really wanted to, but I just couldn’t.” She murmured, still a little shaken. “I’m sorry.”

Dean noticed the haunted look on her face and he recognized it too well, as he had worn it himself for years after the death of his mother. But he also noticed her hand grabbing her waist. And his eyes closed in silent pain. He knew what was hidden at this post. Scars. And he knew where they came from and what they reminded the both of them.

 “Hey… You don’t have to win every battle.” He tried to reassure her.

She smiled slightly, touched by the effort he was doing to comfort her when she knew he felt uncomfortable doing it.

“Let’s go check on Sam.” She suggested. Dean nodded and they walked side by side back to the Impala. Sam was standing in front of the opened trunk, checking a revolver. The sight didn’t reassured Dean nor Makenna. Dean told her how Jessica was dead, how she was dead the same way their mother died. They both knew that the same thing did it and it only made Sam more determinate to find it.

Sam looked at them approaching, tears still running down his face. He finished loading his gun and threw it in the trunk.

“We got work to do.” He said, shutting the trunk.

And Makenna knew that it was the beginning of a long journey.

 


	10. Chapter 10

_ Chapter 9 _

 

“Every man had his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when is only sad”

 

–Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

****

**_On the road, Colorado_ **

Walking slowly in the alley of the small shop, Makenna grabbed a bottle of water and some snacks, then searched for Dean. She spotted him in the alley of desserts, she stopped a moment to look at him without being noticed. He was trying to choose between apple pie or cherry pie, a hard choice it seemed and Makenna couldn’t help the amused smile on her lips.

It has been a week, only a week, and Makenna was already catching herself being nostalgic of the old times. She was so afraid, anxious. She was constantly telling herself “what if I do or say the wrong thing? What if he gets angry and shout at me like the last time? What if I’m not good enough to be his friend?”. Thinking about it all day long was now her occupation. But at the same time, she was remembering the good times they spent together and she wanted it to be back. As before.

She sighed, she wasn’t comfortable enough to be confident around him, to act normally. And a voice within herself couldn’t stop saying that she wouldn’t be able to fully forgive him. That it was a vain dream.

She shook a little her head to clear it of all her bad thoughts and walked towards him. “So, which one will it be?” She asked, making him jump, surprised.

Dean didn’t hear her walking behind him. To be honest, he still wasn’t used to her presence with him, it seemed unreal. It didn’t mean it was a bad thing, but he was still not sure how to act around her, as if he would say something and she would run away. He was afraid of hurting her. Again. But when he looked up at her, seeing her hesitant smile, her blond hair falling in her face, he realized how much he had missed his best friend. And he would do all he could to bring her back.

“I don’t know. What about both?” He finally answered, a smirk in the corner of his mouth.

She chuckled a little, making him feel relieved. “It’s your money, not mine.” She shrugged her shoulders, walking towards the cashier. Making a quick choice, Dean put down the cherry pie and followed Makenna to pay.

Once they got their breakfast, they walked silently back to the car. Makenna’s eyes couldn’t help but fell on the sleeping frame of Sam in the front seat. He rarely got to sleep since the death of his girlfriend. And even if she was relieved that he could get few moments of rest, she was worried about the frown on his face.

The huntress exchanged a look with Dean, seeing the same worry in his eyes, but they both remained silent. They got in the car, and the impala quickly hit the road, direction Black Water Ridge, Colorado. 

Makenna was feeling good, being back there in this car, with the Winchesters. But she hated being left alone with Dean.

Alone. With nothing to say or to do.

The silence was awkward, stressful. Makenna couldn’t look anywhere but out the window by fear to meet the eyes of Dean. Eyes contact would have meant conversation, and she didn’t know if she could do that. As long as they were talking about the case, no problem, but a real conversation? Like a social discussion? No. She couldn’t do that. Not with him.

Fortunately, Dean seemed to be in the same position as her and decided to put some music on. The volume was low to let Sam sleep, but it was enough to distract her mind. She even began to hummed to the tune when suddenly, Sam jerked violently awake.

It seemed as he had been awoken by something disturbing him. The music? Or a nightmare?

Makenna looked at the younger brother with great worry in her eyes, it seemed like he wasn’t going to get sleep before awhile. Then, her eyes met Dean’s in the rearview, and she saw the same worry in it.

They remain silent, as Sam rubbed his eyes, trying to wake or to chase away the memories of his dream. But Dean couldn’t help but look at his brother. He was worry but wouldn’t show it, nor say it at loud. Instead, he glanced one last time towards Sam.

“You okay?” He asked.

Sam looked at him, as if surprised of his presence. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Makenna gently put her hand on Sam shoulder and lean on to look at the side of his face. “Was it another nightmare?” She asked as gently as she could.

For all answer, Sam cleared his throat and shrugged his shoulders, chasing her hand away. Makenna pursed her lips, but said nothing. She understood that he didn’t want to talk about it, but it didn’t mean that the rejection didn’t hurt her.

Silence came back for a moment, an awkward silence. Dean glance to Mac via the rearview and he saw how much she was worried about his little brother. He wanted to do something. He wanted to do something about Sam but also about her. He couldn’t stand seeing the two of them sad.

“Wanna drive for a while?” He asked, looking at Sam.

This simple sentence earned him an incredulous look from the both passengers. Makenna was surprised, yes. Dean would never let someone else drive his precious car, not even her. She had to beg him for years before he had accepted. But in the other hand, she knew why he was doing it. He was trying to make his brother feel better.

Sam didn’t really understand it at first, too shock by the proposition. His mouth kept opening and closing, trying to find words. “Dean, your whole life you never once asked me that.” He breathed out.

Dean quickly retracted his offer. “Just thought you might want to. Never mind.”

Sam scoffed. “Look man. You’re worried about me. You both are. I get it. And thank you, but I’m perfectly okay.”

“Perfectly wouldn’t be the word I’d use.” Makenna murmured under her breath.

“Uh-uh.” Dean said, looking at the road.

Makenna could sense the tension in the car and she felt uncomfortable. If she could avoid conflict, the better she would be. She wasn’t the only one to feel the tension, Sam did too, and decided to change the subject.

“All right, where are we?” He asked, taking the map.

“We are just outside of Grand Junction.” Dean answered.

“You know what, maybe we shouldn’t have left Stanford so soon.” Sam sighed.

“Sam…” Makenna sighed too. “We dug around the town for a week.” She reminded him gently.

“And we came up with nothing.” Dean added, more tired than sorry. “If you wanna find what killed Jessica-”

“We gotta find Dad first.” Sam finished for him.

Makenna sighed once more and let herself fall back in her seat. It had been the same talk during the whole week. She was getting tired of this, of the tension, of the same talk… If only she could do something to help them, she had the impression to be useless. Nonetheless, she was on Dean’s side for this. John knew this thing better that no one else. Only him could help them find it.

“Sam, you know he’s right. John disappearing and this thing showing up again after all this time… It can’t be a coincidence.” Sam didn’t answer and just kept focusing on the map. “If we find John, we’ll find answers.”

“Yeah, he’ll know what to do.” Dean nodded.

“It’s weird guys.” Sam said.

“What is?” Mac asked, curious.

“These coordinates he left us, this Blackwater Ridge…”

“What about it?” Dean asked.

“There’s nothing there. It’s just woods.”

“Okay… It’s weird.” Makenna accepted, confused now.

“Why would he send us in the middle of nowhere?”

They all remained silent, not having the answer to this question as they entered the town.

☾SPN☽

About an hour later, they had stopped the car in front of the ranger station. They all get out of the car without exchanging a single word and walked into the station.

The room was empty; no one was there. Dean and Makenna went on each side of the room, looking at the pictures on the walls while Sam looked at the replicate of Blackwater Ridge that was in the middle of the room.

“So Blackwater Ridge is pretty remote. It’s cut off by these canyons here.” He said, observing. “Rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place.”

“Dude, check out the size of this frigging bear.” Dean said, slightly amazed by the picture he was standing in front of, and definitely not listening to his brother.

Sam threw him a look while Makenna tried not to smile too wide. They both walked to him to see the picture too. “And a dozen or more grizzlies in the area.” Sam finished. “It’s no nature hike, that’s for sure.”

“You boys and girl aren’t planning to go out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?” A voice suddenly came out behind them, making all slightly jump and quickly turn around. It was a Ranger, in a uniform.

Makenna was the fastest one to answer. She was always good when coming up with a lie. “Oh no, sir. We’re environmental-study majors from UC Boulder.” She said, smiling kindly.

She could feel the boys’ look on her and she silently prayed for them to follow her lead.

“Yeah, we’re just working on a paper.” Sam added, supporting her.

“Recycle, man.” Dean added awkwardly. It took all of Mac’s strength not to face palm right now.

“Bull.” The man simply said and the smile on Makenna’s face fell with this word. She thought it would have work. It usually did. “You’re friends with that Haley girl, right?” He asked.

“Yes.” Dean immediately answered and she looked at him, unsure of what he was doing. “Yes, we are… Ranger Wilkinson.”

The ranger scoffed a little. “Well, I will tell you exactly what I told her.” And Makenna became curious. “her brother filled out a permit saying he wouldn’t be back from Blackwater until the 24th. So it’s not exactly a missing person, now, is it?”

“No sir.” Makenna said, looking down a moment, while Dean just nodded.

“Tell that girl to quit worrying. I’m sure her brother’s just fine.”

“We will.” Dean assured.

The ranger was about to leave the room when Dean suddenly came up with an idea. “That Haley girl’s quite a pistol, huh?” He said.

Makenna raised her head violently to look up at him before looking at Sam. Her look was clearly saying ‘what the hell is he doing?’ and Sam could only shrug his shoulders.

“That is putting it mildly.” The ranger answered, forcing Makenna to look back at him.

“Actually, you know what would help is if I could show her a copy of that permit.” Dean added. “You know, so she could see her brother’s return date.”

The ranger remained silent a short moment, before he nodded and gave them the copy of the permit.

Seconds later, the three of them were leaving the station. Dean was smiling brightly, the permit in hand. “Yeah!” he laughed a little to himself.

“Are you cruising for a hookup or something?” Sam asked, rather not kindly.

Makenna was surprised by the tone Sam was using but she couldn’t say that she wasn’t thinking the same thing as him.

“What do you mean?”

“The coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge. What are we waiting for?” Sam exclaimed a little. “Let’s just go find Dad. I mean, why even talk to this girl?”

“I don’t know, maybe we should know what we’re walking into before we actually walk into.”

Makenna nodded silently. That was a fair point. And now, she was curious why Sam was so eager to go into these woods. He usually was the one to do research before going on hunts. Under both Dean’s and Mac’s look, Sam couldn’t help but ask: “What?”

“Since when are you all “shoot first, ask question later” anyways?” Dean asked, confused.

“Yeah, because that’s usually Dean doing that.” Makenna nodded.

“Since now.” Sam answered before going into the car.

Dean couldn’t help but smirk a little. “Oh, really?” He said, amused. But before he could get in the car, Makenna stopped him by grabbing his shoulder. When he looked up at her, he saw worry in her eyes.

“What?” He asked.

“Do you think it’s normal?” She asked him, nodding towards Sam. “He’s not acting normally.”

“He’s fine.” Dean said.

“Are you sure?” She insisted. The intensity of her look in his eyes disturbed him a moment. She really seemed worried.

“Come on.” He said, after a moment of silence then get in the car.

Makenna sighed, but did as she was told and get in the car. They silently rode to the address that was written on the paper the sheriff gave them. Makenna shifted in her seat, she was worried.

Sam was out of character since his girlfriend’s death, and he refused to talk about it. And Dean… well, he didn’t seem to know what to do to help him. Tensions were present and Makenna knew it was only going to increase. She just hoped it wasn’t going to threw all of their effort to work together out of the window.

She wouldn’t be able to go through another family fight.


End file.
